The Ancients
by Woran
Summary: (chapter 27 up!) A strange girl is attacked for unknown reasons. She has fighting potential but there may be more to her then only her odd appearance. Piccolo is going to wish that he never found her...
1. The beginning

She woke up. Flipping over on her belly, she reached for her alarm clock. Three in the morning.  
  
"Ungodly hour of the night." She thought.  
  
She noticed now that her mouth was dry and that she was very thirsty. She lookt around for the flask of water that she always kept next to her bed. It was empty. Muttering some curses under her breath, she got out of bed end tiptoed to the bathroom. She silently closed the door behind her and then sighed.  
  
"Thank god dad didn't wake up this time. His hearing is way to good if you ask me."  
  
She turned on the light and filled the flask. She put the light back out and reacht for the door when it hit her. Her image in the mirror had seemed different somehow. She turned around and looked into the mirror. Her eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what she saw.  
  
"Maybe it's just the gloom. When I put the light back on, I'll just see that it's a trick of the darkness."  
  
She turned the light back on. All she could do was stare in shock at her image in the mirror.  
  
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Piccolo was walking through the woods. He had finished meditation a while ago. It just hadn't workt. He couldn't keep his concentration. Which was very odd. It troubled him a bit. Something was nagging him. Something just at the edge of his thoughts. He was walking in hopes of getting his mind of things so he could get back to his meditation. Walking into a clearing, he saw them again. Tracks. Human tracks. Which was another odd thing.  
  
"This forest is in the middle of nowhere. But the last three days, I've been seeing human tracks in the forest, and I once caught a glimpse of a person." Muttered Piccolo under his breath, his face turning into his usual scowl.  
  
"These tracks are fresh."  
  
Piccolo quickly made up his mind.  
  
"I'm going to find out who invaded my forest and kick his sorry human ass out of here. Then I can finally get my peace back."  
  
Piccolo followed the tracks for about half an hour. The tracks led into a clearing. The clearing had a vertical rock face at its end. A small waterfall fell down into a little lake at the bottom of the cliff. A big tree stood at the edge of the water. He lookt again at the tracks, and noticed another odd thing. These tracks were different then those of the past three days. These were smaller, more delicate. And of bare feet. He then followed the tracks into the clearing with his eyes. And spotted the person making them. The first thing he noticed was that it was not a he, as he had thought earlier, but a she. She had long hair. It reached over her shoulders. But the most amazing thing was the colour. It was white. A pure white. She was carrying a backpack. There was a long, slender, slightly curved form, wrapt in black cloth tied against the side of the backpack. She was wearing white T-shirt, and some black, loose fitting trousers, much like his own.  
  
"Strange." He thought. "The pure white hair. It seems somehow. Familiar." Then it hit him. The hair. It had something to do with the thing that been nagging his mind all the time. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "Kami." He muttered. "It is some important thing from Kami's mind." He opened his eyes again.  
  
He couldn't see her anywhere. He scanned the clearing, and spotted her backpack lying under the tree. He lookt up, and saw her sitting on one of the branches. She was pulling of her clothes and throwing them next to the backpack. She was in her underwear in no time. It was all black he noticed. He couldn't help himself. His cheeks slowly turned purple. Meanwhile she was running along the branch, and gracefully jumped into the lake. She swam a few rounds and then climbed onto a rock to dry.  
  
His sensitive Namek hearing picked something up. Rustling in the bushes. Some, no several people were moving around. And they were good. That much he could tell. They hardly made a noise. He could hear them surrounding the clearing. Judging by the noise, there were at least five of them. He silently moved, so he would be less easy to spot.  
  
He turned his attention back at the clearing. The girl -for he had been able to see that- had slid down from the rock and was putting back her clothes on. Her manners were relaxt enough, but it was hard to fool him. She knew that she was being watcht. She had probably known it from the first time he had seen her. But that hadn't bothered her. No, it were those people in the bushes that made her weary. As if she could feel that they were up to no good. She stood up and calmly walkt across the clearing.  
  
When she reached the middle, suddenly seven people stepped into the clearing. They all came from different directions. They formed a rough, but wide circle around her. They all were dressed in black. They all had black capes on, with the hood pulled forward, so that there faces were in the shadows. Suddenly one of them stepped forward.  
  
"Surrender," he said in a cold voice, "and your death will be quick and painless." "I'm sorry, but I have no intention of dying yet". She said. Her voice was clear, and showed no sign of fright. But, Piccolo couldn't help notice; it was a low voice for a girl. "Then your intentions are wrong." The cold voice said.  
  
All seven people drew a knife. 


	2. The Fighting starts

The seven people all drew a knife. They had formed a circle around her. There was no chance of escape. Knowing a fight was inevitable, she shifted her stance and readied herself for the fight, a simple attack plan forming in her head. Simple, but effective, she hoped.  
  
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Piccolo saw the girl prepare for battle. She shifted her stance so she stood more balanced. He also noticed that she subtly altered her grip on her backpack.  
  
Piccolo was intrigued. He had heard the attackers, and seen the girl, but hadn't felt any Ki. Now that the fight was going to begin, he finally felt it. The Ki was subtly different from anything that he'd ever felt. He could feel that the seven attackers had mastered their Ki. He could tell by the way they had hidden it so well that he hadn't been able to feel it. But the girl was another matter. She had been suppressing her Ki, but more by instinct, then of anything else. He also wondered why seven people who had mastered their Ki would attack a girl. And one that probably didn't know what Ki was.  
  
"This day keeps getting more odd by the minute." He thought.  
  
Suddenly the seven warriors, for what else could they be with mastered Ki's, leapt forward towards the girl. The girl sprang into action. She ripped the package of her backpack and threw the backpack into the speakers face. With one, graceful move, she pulled the cloth of the package, and unsheathed a Katana. The warriors slowed down a bit. Weary now that the girl had a weapon.  
  
"Kill her!" The man with the cold voice screamed. Piccolo could hear embarrassment in his voice. He grinned evilly. Being hit in the face by a backpack, thrown by a little girl, wasn't a very good thing for a warrior's ego.  
  
The seven warriors ran forward as one. The girl fell into a fighting stance and held her Katana in two hands. And attacked.  
  
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She knew that she couldn't beat them. Even if she fought dirty, which she was certainly planning to do. But she was also planning to go down fighting. "Lets have some fun, as long as its going to last." She silently said to herself. She didn't know who they were, or why they wanted to kill her, but she was determent to take some of them down with her.  
  
She took her Katana in her right hand. Moving quickly, she spinned a whole circle, Katana moving to. "That should make them keep their distance." She thought. Then she went head to head with one of the warriors.  
  
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Piccolo saw the determent on her face. The spin had force the attackers to give her some room. She immediately took the slight advantage it gave her and attacked one of the warriors. She thrusted straight ahead with her Katana, the longer reach giving her another slight advantage. The warrior easily blocked the thrust.  
  
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The warrior easily blocked her thrust but that was what she had been hoping for. She stepped forward, slightly bent her knees, and pretended to hit him in the face with her left hand. Falling for the ruse, the warrior did a step backward. Just the thing she wanted him to do. Her left leg quickly shot out, kicking him hard in the back of the knees. While he was falling, she pulled back her left leg and kicked him in the face. He fell on his back with a groan. Wasting to time, she jumped forward. At the same time swiping the Katana behind her back to keep the rest of the warriors back. It was only a small jump. But it had a purpose. She landed with all her weight on her right foot. And her right foot landed on the downed warriors neck. She felt his windpipe shatter.  
  
She jumped of the warrior and turned around, ready for any attack that the other warriors would throw at her. 


	3. Second Kill

Piccolo admired the girls courage. Instead of running, now that there was a gap in the circle, she had turned around. Ready to fight again. Most people would have ran when presented such a chance. But not this strange little girl. She was going to fight. To the bitter end. He could see it in her face.  
  
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She was actually beginning to enjoy the fight. The first had gone down easily. "More of luck, speed and fighting dirty, then anything else." A grin formed on her face at the thought.  
  
She quickly looked at the new situation. There were six fighters now. But they were much more on their guard, now that one of them was down. And they wouldn't fall for the same trick again.  
  
"Then I just have to come up with a new trick." She thought.  
  
Her grin widened when she saw her next victim and the mistake he had made. She had just the right little trick for people who made such mistakes.  
  
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Piccolo saw the girl grin. He could see that she was up to no good. He wondered what kind of dirty trick she would use next. He didn't like dirty fighters. It was unfair. "But then again," he thought, "neither are seven to one odds. Even more if the seven are skilled warriors." He was on the girls side. For now.  
  
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She attacked the warrior on her left. She made a two handed, overhead chop with her Katana, putting as much strength in the attack as she could. The warrior couldn't block such a powerful blow with only a knife. And because of the longer reach of the Katana, he couldn't counterattack. He jumped back. Precisely the thing she wanted him to do. Because she had forced him to take some steps backward with the swipe she had made while she was jumping onto the other warrior, his cloak was dragging over the ground. And when he landed, he stepped on it.  
  
He was waving his arms, trying hard not to fall. If it hadn't been a fight for her life, she would have laughed aloud.  
  
"He should have joined the circus instead of becoming a warrior."  
  
Her only chance of killing him was when he was still of balance. Wasting no more words on the warrior, she ran forward, Katana leading. He was able to bring his knife up for a block. But because he was of balance, he couldn't put enough strength behind it to stop the thrust. She drove the Katana deep into his chest.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Piccolo grudgingly admitted to himself that he was impressed. It had been a clever attack, using the warriors own cloak to get him of balance.  
  
"She has been lucky until now. But that luck is going to change I see."  
  
She couldn't get her Katana out of the dead warriors chest.  
  
"Probably got stuck in the breastbone." He muttered to himself.  
  
The girl had placed one foot onto the warriors chest and was pulling at the Katana with both hands. While she was busy pulling, the other warriors pulled of their cloaks and formed a circle around her. A much tighter circle then before. Finally getting the blade loose, she took a step away from the dead warrior and fell into a fighting stance. The five warriors attacked her all at the same time. 


	4. Cowardly attack

She had just time for a quick curse before they were upon her. She knew this was going to be her final fight.  
  
"Better make my last my best." She thought while keeping two warriors at bay with quick swipes of her Katana and blocking attacks from two others with her left arm and leg.  
  
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Piccolo heard the girl curse. She was fighting well. But she couldn't block all their attacks. They were just with to many. If it hadn't been for the Katana, and her speed, she would have been dead already.  
  
He was getting even more impressed. This frantic fight was lasting some good five minutes now. It was longer then he had expected with five to one odds. And she still had only superficial wound. Some small cuts on her arms and legs. Occasional a knife or punch would get through her defence. But they never did any real damage. She had gotten a few fists in the face and stomach, but the only thing they had done was madden the girl. The only thing the knives had done was messing up her T-shirt.  
  
The more attacks slipped through the girls defence, the angrier she became. And with the rising of her anger, her Ki rose to.  
  
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She was really getting angry. All she could do was defend herself. Another punch slipped through her defences. This one hit her painfully in the neck. She had been able to avoid serious damage by sheer speed. But the fight was lasting to long. Her lungs were starting to burn. She was panting for breath.  
  
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Piccolo could tell the girl was getting tired. Her blocks were coming slower and she wasn't able to avoid being hit by the blows that she couldn't block.  
  
Suddenly something strange happened. One of the fighters backed off, out of the fight. It was the speaker. By his behaviour, he had determined that he was the leader of the warrior group.  
  
He was starting to hate the man. For several reasons. The biggest of them all was that he was fighting a little girl with seven people. And now the man was cowardly backing out of the fight, letting the other warriors do the dirty work.  
  
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He was very angry. How the girl had insulted him! Throwing a backpack into his face.  
  
"How dare she." He said through clenched teeth.  
  
And those six fools. They couldn't even kill a little girl! Even worse, she had killed two of them, and they hadn't been able to lay a finger on her. And the fools had expected him to fight to. No way he was going to do that. He wasn't going to lower himself to the level of a common soldier.  
  
"Damn it! This should have been an easy mission!"  
  
He balled his fists.  
  
"If they ever learn of the girl killing two of my men, I'll be a laughing stock forever."  
  
He looked at the fight.  
  
"This is taking to long. I'll have to end it all by myself then. As usual."  
  
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Piccolo could hear the man talking to himself. He spoke a language he didn't know. But he didn't need to hear the words to understand that he was very angry. And up to no good. He wondered what the coward would do.  
  
He didn't have to wonder long. The coward raised his hands in front of his face. And produced two very small Ki balls. Turning the palms of his hands outward, he slowly made the balls larger. He stopped when they were about as big as his head. Grinning evilly, he threw them to the still fighting girl. 


	5. Impossible, or is it?

She could sense that there was something wrong. She didn't know what, but knew that it wasn't good. Quickly, she turned around. Her eyes widened in shock. There were two bright balls of light coming her way. Deep down something told her that it wasn't normal light. And that if the balls would touch her, she would die. She knew the situation was desperate. And she did what she always did when the situation was desperate. She acted upon instinct.  
  
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Piccolo couldn't believe what he was seeing. The coward had actually fired the Ki blasts. He had expected that the man would have had some honour. But he had fired the blasts at the girls unprotected back. He knew that this was the end of the girl. She had fought bravely. He could stop the blasts, but that only would get him involved. And he didn't feel much for that. He started to turn away and leave, when he saw the girl move.  
  
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The balls were coming straight at her. She let herself fall. But she new that she had acted to late. The balls were going to hit her. In desperation, she made a swipe with her Katana, trying to hit the balls with the flat of the blade.  
  
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Piccolo saw the girl trying to hit the Ki blast with the Katana. He snorted. Trying to defend yourself from Ki blast was foolish. It only proved to him that the girl didn't know a thing about Ki and real fighting. He shook his head. The girl was doomed. Suddenly there was an explosion. The Ki blasts had hit something. The light was so intense that he had to close his eyes.  
  
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She was lying on her back. She blinked a few times to get her vision back. She wondered if she was dead. No. She the pain she felt told her that she was alive. She got up and took a few deep breaths to stop her knees from trembling. She looked at her Katana. It was a bit scorched, but otherwise ok. She felt relieved. Her instinct had been right once again. She had been able to hit the balls aside with her Katana. Suddenly she heard somebody groan. She looked in shock at the battlefield. There was a shallow crater to her right. She reasoned that that was the place where the balls had hit. There were two warriors lying in the middle of the crater. One of them was obviously dead. Everything from the waist down was missing. The other warrior was hurt, but still alive. The two remaining warriors were slowly getting up. Suddenly there was a cry of rage. Turning around, she saw the third warrior running straight at her. 


	6. Torture

Piccolo couldn't believe what he was seeing. She had hit the blasts aside with that Katana of her. It was that he had seen it with his own eyes. Otherwise he wouldn't have believed it. Another thing he couldn't believe was the stupidity of the leader of this group. He had killed one of his own men, and wounded the other, with his own Ki blasts! Hearing a cry of rage and the rising of a Ki. He scanned the battlefield. The fool was running towards the girl.  
  
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She couldn't keep her ground. The ferociousness of the attack drove her back step by step. He drove her into the crater. Still moving backwards, she was careful at where to put her feet. She didn't want to fall. Not with such an attacker. A fall would prove fatal.  
  
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The fighting pair went into the crater. He could see that the fool was getting tired. The attack had tired him. But the girl was tired to. Her blocks came slower and slower. And still the fool drove the girl back.  
  
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Someone had grabbed her ankle! Looking down, she stared into the grinning face of the injured warrior. The warrior pulled on her ankle with all his remaining strength. She managed not to fall. But the distraction cost her dearly. The other warrior blocked a feeble swipe of her Katana. Moving to fast for her to block, the warrior thrusted his knife between her ribs.  
  
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He saw the injured warrior grab and pull her ankle. The fool immediately took advantage from her distraction. He saw him thrust his knife between her ribs. He then took a step back and pulled his knife out. He could only stand there and stare. Like he couldn't believe that he had been able to hit her. It looked like the girl couldn't believe it herself. She blinked a few times and looked at the wound. It was pretty serious. He could see the blood run down her side. The girl looked from the wound to the injured warrior. He was still holding her ankle. Moving fast, she hacked of his head. But the movement had proven too much. She let go of the Katana and grabbed the wound. Then she staggered back a few paces, and fell unto her knees. He could hear her painful coughing. And see the blood she was coughing up. The fool walked over to the girl, and stood before her. When she looked up to her, he kicked her hard in the face. The force of the kick made her fly though the air a few yards and land on her back.  
  
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She was fighting for breath. The knife had punctured her lung, and it was slowly filling with blood. Coughing to get some of it out she tried to get up. But the coughing and the movement caused so much pain, that she couldn't move the left side of her body. Breathing became even harder when her nose started to bleed from the kick into her face. A shadow fell over her face. Looking up, she saw the warrior who had stabbed her. He was grinning evilly.  
  
"You will pay."  
  
He started kicking her.  
  
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The coward started kicking the girl. He obviously enjoyed it, because soon he was laughing aloud. Piccolo clenched his fists at his sides. How he would like to teach such a coward a lesson. Even more because this coward enjoyed torturing helpless victims. But he told himself not to get involved. It was not his fight. Getting tired of only kicking the girl, he pulled her of the ground.  
  
"Hold her!"  
  
The coward yelled at one of the remaining warriors before he throwing her in his direction. The warrior grabbed her, holding her arms tightly behind her back. He could see that she could barely stand. Grinning, the fool walked towards the girl. Not having had enough of the torture, he started hitting her in the face.  
  
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She could feel that she was staring to loose consciousness. Not of the pain, but of lack of air. It was getting harder and harder for her to breath. Al she could do was cough up blood. The pain was intense, but she could bear it. She would not give her torturers the satisfaction of her crying out in pain. Let them try. She could endure a lot of pain. They needed to do a lot more then just kicking and hitting her before she would cry out.  
  
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He could see the determent on her face. She wasn't going to give the tortures the satisfaction of her crying out in pain. He was beginning to like the girl. But the fool was getting angry. He didn't like it that the torture wasn't getting to her. Piccolo feared that the cowards anger would make matters even worse for the girl.  
  
"Want to play though? Well then. Lets see."  
  
The coward eyed the girl.  
  
"Yes. See how you like this."  
  
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The beating had finally stopped. The only thing that kept her from falling was the warrior that held her. Her torturer said something, but she couldn't hear what he said. Her ears were ringing too much. She slowly shook her head. Hearing wasn't that important. She wanted to get her vision back. At the moment, everything was a blur. Suddenly, someone grabbed her T- Shirt. Lifting her head, she looked into the face of her torturer. He was grinning evilly. With one swift move, he ripped of her T-Shirt.  
  
"Not that it really matters." She thought. "It was so tattered that this is actually an improvement."  
  
The shirt she was wearing underneath was in much better shape. It only had a few small tears. A sudden pain pulled her from her thoughts. The torturer had grabbed her by her hair. He pulled her head back. He moved his head forward and tried to kiss her. She tried to pull away, but he was still holding her by her hair. His lips brushed against hers. She suddenly snapped her head forward and bit hard on his lower lip. He cried out in pain and tried to pull away. But she wouldn't let go. She was going to teach the bastard a lesson. She bit with all her strength and pulled her head back. She ripped his lower lip right of. All he could do was stare at her. Now it was her turn to grin evilly. She spat the lip into his face. Then she hit him in the groin with her knee. His eyes bulged and he slowly bended forward. She drove her knee into his face. He began to fall backwards. She pulled in both her legs and kicked him in his face with both of them. The warrior that was holding her was of balance now. She took that advantage and hooked her legs around the back of his knees and pulled hard. While they were falling backwards, she slammed her head into his face. She tried to roll away, but the warrior grabbed her. He hooked one arm around her neck and started to choke her. Already out of breath because of her punctured lung, she didn't have any strength left break his hold. Struggling, her right hand suddenly felt something cold. Something made of metal. It was a knife. Wasting no time, she grabbed it and stabbed the warrior, once, twice, trice and even a fourth time before he let go. She stabbed him again, this time hitting something vital. He silently died. The last attack had cost her all her strength. She was out of breath and loosing too much blood. The weight of the dead warrior made breathing even harder.  
  
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Piccolo was surprised by the girls attack. He had been planning to do something if the coward had done something more than just kiss her. The attack had been rather gruesome, but it was everything the coward deserved. He would have happily ripped of more of his body. Now she was fighting with the warrior that had been holding her. But he could see that she didn't stand a chance. She had used up her last remains of strength in the attack on the coward. The warrior was choking her. She was struggling, but it had no effect. Suddenly, she stopped. He frowned. She couldn't be dead yet. Then he saw it. She had found a knife. She kept stabbing the warrior until he was dead. Piccolo looked at the coward. He was still out cold. The girl had hid him good. There was movement. The last remaining warrior was walking towards the Girl. And she couldn't do a thing. She didn't have enough strength left to get from under the dead warriors body. 


	7. Saved

Suddenly the weight on her back vanished. Breathing became a bit easier. She took a deep breath but started to cough up blood again. She felt that somebody was patting her back. It helped her a bit. Then two strong hands grabbed her. She was gently turned around. Lying on her back, she looked into the face of the remaining warrior.  
  
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Piccolo didn't know what to think of it. The warrior was actually helping the girl. First patting her back when she was coughing up blood, and then turning her on her back. He could see that the girl also didn't know what to think of it. She was eyeing the warrior suspiciously. Then she made up her mind. She began to talk to the warrior. Her voice was very soft, but because of his sensitive Namekian hearing, he didn't miss a word.  
  
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"Please, help me. You are different from the rest. You have honour. I can see it in your eyes." She drew a painful breath. "Nothing short of a miracle can save my life now. So I wont ask you to try and save it. But I will call upon you warriors honour. You know I have fought bravely. So please, give me a warriors death. A quick death."  
  
The warrior slowly nodded.  
  
"Yes. You deserve the warriors death. You have fought bravely."  
  
The warrior drew his knife.  
  
"What would you prefer? The eye, neck or heart?"  
  
"Would it make any difference?"  
  
"Not much," was his reply, "maybe a small difference at how quick you die. I think that in your condition the hearth would be the quickest way."  
  
"Then do it."  
  
The warrior nodded once and raised his knife.  
  
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A scream echoed across the clearing.  
  
"Traitor!"  
  
Piccolo felt a strong rising of Ki. The coward had come round.  
  
"Traitor! How dare you betray your own race for such a filthy little, little."  
  
The coward was so mad that he couldn't even finish his sentence. His Ki was still rising. Crying out in outrage, he ran forward and fired a Ki blast at the warrior. Sitting on his knees next to the girl, he couldn't dodge the blast. It hit him in the chest, the force of the blast throwing him backwards. With a groan, the warrior tried to sit up. The coward jumped on top of the warrior and grabbed his knife. He continued stabbing the helpless warrior long after he was dead. Having vented his rage, the coward slowly walked to the girl. Grabbing her by her shirt, he pulled her close to his face.  
  
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"You made a mistake, thinking you could escape me, silly girl."  
  
She merely smirked. "If I had hit you a bit harder in that ugly face of yours, I would have. A pity you have such a thick skull."  
  
Growling with rage, he slammed her unto the ground and hit her a few times in the face.  
  
"You will pay for those remarks."  
  
She new death was close now. Her body couldn't take much more punishment. "Better to get him so angry that he kills me, then that he goes back to what he was planning to do before she had kicked him unconscious." She thought.  
  
"You know, your breath stinks. So please, if you want to yell at me, don't put your face so close to mine."  
  
"So you don't like my face so close to yours. Well then see if you like this then."  
  
He grinned. With a torn of lower lip, it wasn't a pretty sight. He moved so he was sitting on her legs. She felt his hands on her belly, moving her shirt upward.  
  
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Before he knew what he was doing he had stepped out of the bushes and was walking across the clearing. The coward was a disgrace to all warriors. Even Freeza hadn't gone this far.  
  
"I think not."  
  
His voice was ice cold. When the coward looked his way, he grabbed him by the neck and lifted him of the girl. Pulling the coward closer, he snarled in his face:  
  
"You are pathetic. You are a coward and a fool. You have no honour. You are a disgrace to all warriors. You. Will. Pay."  
  
Holding the coward at arms length he channelled all his anger into a single Ki blast. The coward completely disintegrated.  
  
"Nice work. Now, who are you, whose side are you on, and what does that side want to do to me?"  
  
He looked down. The girl was sitting on her knees and was trying to stand up. She slowly got up and fell into a fighting stance. Piccolo couldn't help himself. He had to smile. The girl had guts. She was obvious impressed by his display of power, but still she had stood up and challenged him. His smile turned into a frown. The girl was panting, but it seemed that she didn't get any breath. The panting turned into coughing. She spit out a big clot of blood. Looking at it, she cursed. Then her eyes rolled up in her head and she started to fall down. With one swift move, he grabbed her and lowered her to the ground. Her face was very pale. He checked for a heartbeat. It was still beating, but it was weak and irregular. She didn't have much time. He thought hard at what he should do. The nearest hospital was miles away. And she was to far gone for human healing. There was only one option left to him, although he didn't like it. He had to take her to Dende. And fast. He was a long way from the lookout. She might not make it.  
  
Making up his mind, he gently picked her up, letting her head rest on his shoulder.  
  
"Just to make sure she doesn't drown in her own blood." He told himself.  
  
He slowly rose into the air, paying attention that his cloak didn't snag on any branches. When he was clear of the branches, he flew of at top speed. 


	8. Healing

He was nearing the lookout now. Just in time. The girls heart was beating weaker by the minute. Eyes closed, he concentrated and made telepathic contact with Dende.  
  
"Dende."  
  
"Piccolo? Hey, it has been a long time! How are you?"  
  
"Dende, I don't have time for this. Come to the west side of the lookout. Now."  
  
"Piccolo? Why? What's the matter? Are you hurt?"  
  
"I said, I don't have time for this. Just hurry up. It might already be to late."  
  
"At least explain me what is going on. And what do you mean by that it might already be to late?"  
  
"I have someone here that is wounded very badly. That is al you need to know. Now hurry up and come to the west side of the lookout!"  
  
He broke of the contact and opened his eyes. Nearly there. Still flying at full speed he flew toward the building on the lookout. He saw Dende run towards him. He only stopped at the last moment. He gently lowered the girl to the ground.  
  
"She needs healing. Now."  
  
Dende opened his mouth. No doubt planning to ask questions.  
  
"Dende, now. She wont survive much longer."  
  
Seeing the girls bad condition, Dende quickly went to work. In no time the girl was bathing in a golden glow. Figuring that the healing would take a while, Piccolo closed his eyes and started some light meditation. He was planning to find out what the connection was between the memory from Kami that had been nagging him and the girls white hair.  
  
About ten minutes later, he opened his eyes. He hadn't been able to find out much more. Only that the white hair was something important, and that Kami himself hadn't know anything more. The knowledge that the white hair was important had been given to him by the guardian before him, and that that guardian also hadn't know anything more than that. It was a mystery. He didn't like mysteries. Looking down, he saw that Dende had just finished the healing.  
  
"Why did it take so long? Healings usually last only a few seconds. Half a minute at most. What happened?"  
  
Dende looked up and wiped the sweat from his face.  
  
"Well, her wounds were extensive. Broken bones, lots of internal damage. And getting al the blood out of her lungs was a bit tricky. But the real problem was the poison."  
  
"Poison?"  
  
"Yes. The blade she was stabbed in the lung with was poisoned. Its good the wound bled so much. It kept the poison from spreading too much. If it head, she would have been dead in about a minute."  
  
"That bastard."  
  
"Who's a bastard Piccolo?  
  
"None of your business. Anything more I need to know?"  
  
"Yes. She is still very weak from loss of blood. She is unconscious now, and it is likely that she will remain this way for some time. Probably two days or more. And what happened? Why was the girl injured? And why did you save her?"  
  
"Thank you for healing her Dende."  
  
He took the girl in his arms again and flew of. Dende's cries followed him.  
  
"Piccolo wait! Where are you going?! What happened?!  
  
"Goodbye Dende!" He yelled back.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Piccolo was only a black dot in the distance now. Dende shook his head. This was the most uncharacteristic behaviour of Piccolo he'd ever seen. And that girl. There was something strange about her. And her hair. Not that he'd never seen white hair before. Kibito Kai and the old Kai both had white hair. But this hair was different. The white somehow, more pure. There was something about that white hair. Something important. Hearing footsteps, he looked up. It was Mr. Popo.  
  
"Dende, wasn't that Piccolo? What happened?"  
  
"Lets go to the archives Mr. Popo. I have to find something very important. I'll tell you what happened when we are there."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
The archives. Mr. Popo new that it had to be something really important. The archives were vast. And that was even an understatement. Every guardian added to the archives. Kami and the guardian before him had placed their additions in alphabetical order. To bad they had been the only ones. Most of the archives were just shelves upon shelves of scrolls, books, artefacts and other stuff thrown randomly together. It was easier to find a single grain of sand in a planet wide dessert, than find something in the archives. It had to be immensely important if they were going to search the archives. 


	9. Getting rid of the Girl

Piccolo landed in front of his house and couldn't suppress a smile. Everybody thought that he just lived out in the wilds. Well, mostly he did. But he did have a house. Even he needed one. It was a small Namekian house. It was actually nothing more then two small circles. It only had one window and the door was just a piece of cloth hanging in the doorway. Pushing the cloth aside, Piccolo went in. The inside was very simple. Bare walls and an earth floor. The only thing inside was a chair, a table and a bed. The table and chair filled the larger circle. The second circle was something else. Actually, it wasn't a circle. More a half one. And it was completely filled by the bed. Piccolo was rather proud of the bed. It wasn't a normal one. It was two feet high, and it had the shape of half a circle. Just as the part of the house it stood in. It fitted perfectly. Not a gap in sight. He pulled back the sheet that was lying on the bed. Not that he needed a sheet. It was just very useful for keeping the dust from getting into the mattress. He carefully lowered the girl onto the bed and made sure she was lying comfortably. After shaking out the sheet outside, he put it back on the bed, pulling it up to the girls chin. Grabbing the chair, he put it next to the bed and sat down. The girls breath was even and steady. He studied her face. She had a peaked face. Curious, he lifted one of her eyelids. Her eyes were blue. Her ears were pointed. Sighing, he stood up. The mystery around this girl kept growing. He put back the chair and crossed his legs. Floating above the table, he started to meditate.  
  
Piccolo opened his eyes. It was early in the morning. Light fell through the only window onto the bed. To his surprise he saw that the girl had slipped out of the unconsciousness and was sleeping now. She was a quick healer then. Dende had said that she would likely remain unconscious for two days. The girl was lying on her right side, facing the wall. She was curled up in a tight ball, and obviously sound asleep. He wondered what gotten into him the other day. Rescuing a total stranger, taking her for healing to Dende and bringing her to his own house. One thing was certain. The girl had to leave. Before she woke up. Otherwise, it would only lead to annoying questions and trouble. And he didn't want that. All he wanted was to get back his peace. Outside, it was already light and the temperature was rising. It was a very dry summer this year. Flying east, he looked around for the clearing where the battle had taken place. A plan about getting rid of the girl was forming in his mind. It was a simple plan, but those always worked the best. He would retrieve the girls backpack and Katana, grab the girl, and dump her in the nearest town before she would wake up. That would get him rid of the girl and the trouble she would cause him when she would wake up. Spotting the clearing, he landed. The air was full with the buzz of flies. In the warm summer weather, the corpses of the warriors had started to rot immediately. The stench of decay was almost overwhelming. The Katana was at the same place that she had dropped it when she had been stabbed. Just in front of one of the corpses. Putting his cloak over his mouth and nose, he moved forward. He only got a few yards. The stench was just too much. Raising one arm, he fired a beam of Ki, completely disintegrating the decaying corpse. Katana in hand, he searched for the backpack, and at the same time disintegrating the other corpses. Picking up the backpack, he also saw the scabbard, still wrapped in the black cloth. After sheathing the Katana, he tied it to the side of the backpack. Looking at the clearing one more time, he noticed that there was only one corpse left. It was the one of the warrior that had gotten blasted by his own leader. It hadn't been a pretty sight before. Now that he had started to rot it was repulsive. Piccolo was just about to blast the legless corpse, when he heard voices. 


	10. Waking up

He could blast the corpse and fly off. But he didn't. Lowering his power level as low as he could, he quickly stepped behind some trees. Just in time. Four people walked into the clearing. They were dressed exactly the same as the dead warriors. Closing his eyes, he concentrated. He took his time to familiarise himself with their Ki. He wouldn't have to rely on his hearing anymore to spot them. Now that he had gotten a good feel of their Ki, he would be able to sense them that way. Even if they suppressed it. Opening his eyes, he saw them take a look around the clearing. When they spotted the corpse, they didn't look much concerned.  
  
"Hey Aeric, what do you think happened here? Arthos got blasted good. And there is no trace of the others on this world."  
  
"Well, since you are the new guy Tex, I'll explain. By the looks of it, the ran into a courier."  
  
"A courier? What's that? And wasn't their mission to-"  
  
The guy named Tex what cut short by the one called Aeric.  
  
"Clearly, they did again what they were famous for. Abandoning their mission. And a courier is a person that brings valuable stuff from one Plane to another. The valuable stuff can be anything. Precious metals or stones, weapons, artefacts of magic stuff. By the looks of it, the courier self-destructed. And poor Arthos couldn't get away in time. No doubt the rest of them are getting drunk somewhere. Using the stuff they've taken from the courier to pay the drinks. And only god knows where they went to. We'll just have to wait until they run out of money to buy drinks, sober up and come back. By the looks of the crater, it was only a small courier. They will be back in about three weeks. Five if they are really mean with the money. Which I doubt. And when they get back, they better finish their mission. Otherwise the boss wouldn't be to pleased."  
  
"Oh, well. This is only a backwater planet. Nothing that lives here could become a threat."  
  
"Guess you're right Tex. Well, lets go. If these guys don't report back in six weeks, we'll send another group. This time one of ten fighters. And we'll make sure it's a group that can fight. These guys are total crap."  
  
The speaker blasted the corpse with a beam of Ki. The body disintegrated. With a nod to the others, he turned and left the way he came. The others followed him.  
  
Six weeks. The girl had six weeks before they would come after her again. He wondered why they were after her. With a sigh, he decided that walking home was the best thing. It would give him time to think. Killing the girl had been the warriors mission. But who had giving them the mission? The other ones had mentioned a boss. Was he the one who wanted the girl killed so badly? And why did she have to die? It was clear that she didn't know. He mentally went over the whole fight again. The seven had been skilled warriors who had mastered their Ki's. But only the leader had used it. It wasn't making any sense. Better get rid of the girl and be done with it.  
  
Walking inside, he put the backpack unto the table. The girl was still asleep. She was lying on her left side now, still curled up into a ball, but not so tight than before. He recalled how she had hit the Ki blasts aside with the Katana. Technically that was impossible. Pulling the cloth on top of it back, he unsheathed the Katana. It was an ordinary looking blade. It was a bit scorched from the blasts, but otherwise it was ok. He took a look at the decorations on the blade. Riders in traditional Japanese armour. The decorations were simple but elegant. He actually liked it a bit. He sheathed the Katana and put the cloth back in its place. The girls backpack wasn't big. Opening it, he took out the stuff that was inside and put it on the table. On top there was a flask filled with water, a first aid kit, a few handkerchiefs, a rag that was obviously used to polish the Katana, sword polish, and a small hunting knife. The rest in the pack were clothes. A few black trousers, black and white T-Shirts, white shirts and clean underwear. Which was all black. Putting the underwear quickly away, he tried hard not to blush. Looking into the backpack again, he pulled out a rather bedraggled looking black cloak. But it was the last item in the backpack that grabbed his attention. It was a karate suit. He couldn't discover the name of a school anywhere. He looked around for the belt. When he found it, he was surprised. It was white. A mere white belt had killed seven warriors? He put the belt on top of the suit and looked up. Right into a pair of bleu eyes. The girl had woken up. 


	11. Decisions

"How long have you been awake?"  
  
"Long enough to see you go through my stuff."  
  
A slight smile formed on the girls face.  
  
"At least you had the decency to blush when you got to my underwear."  
  
He turned around so that she couldn't see him blush again. Turning around again, he saw her staring.  
  
"Didn't you mother teach you that staring is very rude?"  
  
"Yes. She did. Please forgive me. I just couldn't help it. I have never seen a green man before."  
  
She sat up straight and leaned against the wall. When she pulled the sheet over her legs she had to yawn. Now it was his turn to stare.  
  
"Sorry. Totally forgot my manners."  
  
"No. It's not that. You've got fangs."  
  
She nodded. He had gotten a good look at the fangs. They were a bit smaller than his. Her other teeth had looked quite sharp to. The girl was looking at him again.  
  
"What. Something stuck on my face or something?  
  
"No. Its just that I want to thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Well, you obviously saved my life. One of the last things I can remember is seeing you disintegrate one of the bastards that tried to kill me. And I was almost dead when you did that. I had a punctured lung, several broken bones and a lot of other wounds. Now, I don't have a scratch. I can't even find a scar. I really owe you my life."  
  
"Don't mention it. Why do you even care?"  
  
"Well, because its my life, and for some strange reason I'm attached to it."  
  
The girl was smiling. But he didn't find the conversation funny at all. It was time to solve some of this mystery. He wanted some answers. And he wanted them now.  
  
"Why did they want to kill you?"  
  
Seeing the look on his face, the girl got serious. She gave a great sigh.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"That's ridiculous."  
  
"I know. But I honestly wouldn't know. The only thing I can come up with when I think about it is that it has to do with the way I look. Maybe they hate white haired, pointy eared girls who have fangs."  
  
He could see that she really didn't know. But that didn't explain that a girl with hardly any fighting experience had killed six warriors.  
  
"Do you have any fighting experience other then the one you got at Karate?"  
  
"None. Unless you want to count the fights I got into at school."  
  
"So you have virtually no fighting experience. And yet you killed six skilled warriors. How did you manage to do that?"  
  
"Speed, dirty fighting, instinct, and a big dose of luck. And them underestimating me. The first two died because I was fast, had a lot of luck, and they were stupid."  
  
She grinned.  
  
"Never underestimate you opponent."  
  
"You could have ran when you had killed the first warrior."  
  
The girl shook her head.  
  
"No. They were good with those knives. If I had ran, they would have thrown those knives at me. I rather die in a good fight then of a knife in the back."  
  
They were silent for a few minutes. The girl bit her lower lip. She blushed and looked away.  
  
"Eh, I was wondering. Well, this shirt is covered in blood. I wanted to change into a clean one. Eh, could you.please turn away?"  
  
Sighing, he walked outside. It was a welcome break anyway. He wasn't very good at the social stuff. And he needed to think. He went over the whole fight again. And the emotions he had felt. The girl had potential. To bad that in six weeks she would be killed. Unless he.  
  
"I'm done!"  
  
He walked back inside. The girl had put on clean clothes. She was busy putting the stuff back into her pack. He sighed. He had made up his mind. He new that he would be sorry later.  
  
"Girl."  
  
When she turned around, he aimed a punch at her face. The girls face turned into a grim expression. She dodged the blow and tried to kick him in the stomach. He grabbed her foot and lifted her from the ground. Then he realised his mistake. She was quite tall. He guessed her to be 5 foot 9. So she could easily reach the ground. And his legs. By the time he had realised this, she had already grabbed his legs and was trying to pull him off balance. He looked down. And realised his other mistake. Her great improvising skills. Her free foot hit him in the face. She wasn't strong enough to hurt him. He broke her hold on his legs by driving his knee in her stomach. The force of the blow drove the air out of her lungs. She started to wriggle so hard that he had to let her go. She hit the ground rolling and stood up. Just in time to receive two heavy slaps in the face. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her of the ground. She clawed at his hand. He shook his head. The girl had fighting potential. She had speed, courage, a high tolerance for pain, determent, a fighters instinct and she was a good improviser. He knew he would be regretting his decision later. So he acted before he could convince himself otherwise.  
  
"How would you like to get some real training?" 


	12. Getting ready

"I'll tell you that after you let go of my neck. I'm not getting any air."  
  
He let go of her neck. She did a few steps backward and looked hard at him.  
  
"It was a test, wasn't it. You wanted to see how I reacted to a sudden threat."  
  
He didn't answer. Reading intentions was another of her good skills. She really had potential.  
  
"Why do you want to train me?"  
  
"You have potential kid. It would be a waste to let you get killed in six weeks."  
  
"Killed in six weeks? What do you mean?"  
  
"When I retrieved you backpack and Katana, I overheard a conversation. There were four men in the clearing where the fight took place. They looked exactly like the warriors that tried to kill you. They thought that the seven warriors had abandoned their mission to kill you and were getting drunk somewhere. The leader of the four said that if they weren't back in six weeks, they would send a group of ten warriors after you."  
  
"So you think I have fighting potential Mr.?"  
  
"Piccolo. You can call me Mr. Piccolo or PiccoloSan."  
  
"A question PiccoloSan. Of what race are you?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing."  
  
"Well, the thing is, I don't know. I have never met anyone who looks like me. As far as I know, I'm the only one on this planet that looks this way. But what about you?"  
  
"I'm a Namek. And before you ask, yes, we are all green, and no, there are only two Nameks on this planet."  
  
The girl nodded. Then she gave a deep bow.  
  
"I am ready for training Sensei."  
  
With a nod he grabbed the girl around the waist and threw her over his shoulder.  
  
"What the. What are you doing Sensei?!"  
  
"Getting you to your training place."  
  
"But I don't have my backpack!"  
  
"You wont need it."  
  
"Yes I do! I don't know about you, but I like to put on clean underwear once in a while!"  
  
He was regretting his decision already. Thrusting the backpack into the girls hands, he walked outside and immediately flew of at full speed. The girl had grabbed his cloak. She was holding it with all her strength. When he had reached enough height, he flew southwards.  
  
"You can let go of me now!"  
  
Figuring that the girl could take care of herself he let go. If she fell of, it would be her own fault. Feeling the girl move around on his back he yelled:  
  
"What the hell are you doing back there!?"  
  
"Enjoying the view and getting into a more comfortable position!"  
  
The girl was sitting on his back now, her legs around his waist, feet hooked around each other for support. Looking over his shoulder, he saw her look around in wonder. She really was enjoying the view. It was time for the final test then. Suddenly, he turned over so that he was flying upside down. The girl gave a small cry of fear, tightened her hold on his waist and put her arms around his neck. She was holding on so tightly that it was difficult to breath.  
  
"What the hell was that for!?" She yelled in his ear.  
  
He gave her no answer. When he turned over again, she slowly let go of his neck and lessened her hold on his waist. In a few minutes she had forgotten the whole incident and was enjoying the view once more. 


	13. Alone

After a good three hours of flying he landed. The girl let go and stretched a bit. They were standing in a canyon. It was quite wide and made of red stone.  
  
"Your training will begin here. But first, you need decent training clothes."  
  
Facing the girl, he raised his right arm, fingers spread, his hand palm nearly touching her head. He concentrated and the girl was surrounded by a white/bleu glow. When the glow disappeared, the girl was wearing a Gi, like he did. Only this Gi was black. The sash around her waist and the wristbands were white. The girl took a step back in shock, overbalanced and fell down.  
  
"Wow. This is cool. How did you do that?"  
  
She slowly stood up.  
  
"And what are these clothes made of? They are bloody heavy you know."  
  
"Those are weighted training clothes. You will wear them as long as your training lasts."  
  
"And what will be my training Sensei?"  
  
"The first part of your training will be to survive here. On your own."  
  
"And how long will this part of my training last Sensei?"  
  
"As long as I think is necessary."  
  
"Yes Sensei." The girl said with a bow.  
  
He had expected the girl to complain. But she accepted the first part of the training without comment. She sure was a stubborn one. And the idea of being alone in the wilds for a long period of time didn't bother her at all. This could get interesting.  
  
"Do not leave this area. If you do, I will find you and punish you."  
  
"Yes Sensei." The girl bowed again.  
  
He flew of without another word. She was on her own now. Then the girl cried out.  
  
"Wait! You forgot to."  
  
Speeding up, he couldn't hear the last part that she yelled.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
".Give me shoes." 


	14. Beginning the survival

"Great. Just great. Now I have to survive here without any shoes."  
  
She looked around the canyon. She could see several cave. To her left, the canyon suddenly ended. The steep walls blocked most of the view, but she could see a wide grassy plain and a big forest. To her right, the canyon continued until a bend blocked her view. Walking over to a rock, she sat down. The training clothes were rather heavy. The wristbands were weighted to. Opening one of the side pockets of her backpack, she pulled out a toilet bag. Rummaging inside, she pulled out a hairbrush and an elastic band. With a few strokes of the brush, she put her hair in a ponytail.  
  
"So, that's better. Now it won't get into my face all the time. Now lets see. How am I going to survive here."  
  
She looked around. There were several caves in the cliff. Putting the pack on her back, she investigated them one by one. Most of them were either to big or to small. One of them was occupied. There was a bear sleeping inside. She quickly left. Rounding the bent in the canyon, she saw nothing but an endless wasteland. Just dirt, rocks and the occasional tuft of grass. At the edge of the horizon she could see the shimmering of heat.  
  
"Probably a desert."  
  
After a good while of searching, she finally found a good cave. It was small, but the height was good. She could easily stand. The cave was about 8 foot wide and 16 foot deep. The position of the cave was also good. It was situated close to the end of the canyon. So it was close to the plain and forest. To the right of the cave entrance there was a small outcropping. It protected the cave from the wind that blew through the canyon. She saw that the cave was rather dirty inside. Walking unto the plain, she cut a large amount of the tough long grass that grew there. Putting it outside the cave she first threw out all the rocks that were inside. Then she picked up the grass and used it to sweep al the sand and dirt outside. She was sweating and very hot. It was hard work. The weighted clothes made it even harder. And the summer heat was even hotter because of the stone canyon. She was glad it was cool inside the cave. The cleaning took longer than she had expected. By the time it was finished, the sun was already setting and she was very tired. But she wasn't finished yet. She made three more trips to the plain. Every time returning with an armload of grass. She spread it out at the end of the cave. She could hardly stand now. The weight of the clothes was dragging her down. She felt weak.  
  
"Damn. This must be because of blood loss. Guess that whatever way Piccolo healed me can only do wounds and cannot replace blood. Have to be careful for a while."  
  
She put down her backpack, opened it and pulled out her cloak. Wrapping herself in it, she lay down on the bed she had made of grass, curled up into a ball and instantly fell asleep.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Piccolo was standing on top of the cliff. After flying off, he had made sure that he was out of the girls eyesight before turning back. He had watched her all day. He could see that she had experience in surviving in the wild. Instead of taking just the first cave, she had checked them all out first. And when she had found a suitable cave, she had cleaned it out. But the thing he liked the most was that she had made a bed of grass. It would keep her of the bare rock. That was important, because the rock could suck all the warmth out of you. She clearly had survival experience. He levitated to the canyon floor and walked over to the cave entrance. Looking inside, he saw that the girl was curled up into her cloak on her grass bed. She was sound asleep. Having watched her all day he knew that she was still weak from loss of blood. Taking a few steps to the side, he levitated and started to meditate. He would watch over the girl this night. 


	15. First day of survival

Two sensations were fighting for dominance over her body. At the moment, pain was winning it of hunger. She slowly sat up. Her muscles were aching in the weirdest of places.  
  
"Bloody weighted training clothes." She groaned.  
  
She slowly stood up. After picking up her backpack, she walked outside. It was early in the morning. Sitting down on a large rock outside her cave, she pulled out her toilet bag. After rummaging though it for a while, she finally found her toothbrush and toothpaste. Brushing her teeth, she enjoyed the early morning sun. The warmth eased the pain in her muscles a bit. After brushing her teeth, she pulled out the elastic band in her hair. Then the slow process of getting all the grass and buns out began. When she finished, she put her hair back into a ponytail.  
  
"The survival camps really paid off. If I had slept on bare rock instead of grass, I would really have had aching muscles."  
  
She put the bag back into her pack. Hunger had replaced pain as the dominant sensation in her body. After digging out her Karate belt and hunting knife, she untied the Katana from the side of her backpack. She tied the belt to the Katana and put the weapon on her back. Making sure the hilt was over her right shoulder, she checked if she could easily draw the Katana. Throwing her backpack back into the cave, she walked towards the forest. She was really getting hungry now.  
  
"I haven't eaten in two days. No wonder that I'm hungry!" She said with a smile.  
  
Walking towards the forest, she tied the hunting knife to her sash.  
  
"There. Now I'm ready to face danger."  
  
Her stomach rumbled.  
  
"Alright! Almost ready then."  
  
Walking into the forest, she started to search for food. She didn't have to search long. There was a big apple tree just a short while into the forest. Quickly climbing into the tree, she grabbed an apple and started eating. While she was eating, she stuffed apples into the front of her Gi.  
  
"So, that should keep me going for a while."  
  
She jumped out of the tree.  
  
"Hm. I thought I saw a large bush of ferns on my way here."  
  
Finding the ferns, she began to cut them down. The ferns would make a nice addition to her bed. She had to walk three times before she had them all back into her cave. After spreading them out on top of the grass, she went back to the plain. She cut again three armloads of grass and put it on top of the ferns. Now her bed was complete. She walked back outside and sat down on her rock. Now that she had taken care of the important things, sleep, food and a safe place to sleep, she had finally time to think.  
  
"And I do have a lot to think about. How my life has changed. And how many strange things I've been through. The fight, nearly dying, getting healed, getting rescued by a big green man and that same 'man' offered me training and dumped me in the middle of nowhere."  
  
Snorting, she pulled an apple out of her Gi.  
  
"At least there is something to eat here."  
  
She started to eat the apple. The midday sun was hot on her body. She didn't notice. She was lost in thought. 


	16. Thinking back

She thought back at the things that had happened the past few days.  
  
"So many things happened. I don't even know when it all began. But I do know that my troubles began when I lost my shoes."  
  
She had lost her shoes in a very strange way. Finding a stream, she had put them out and walked in. When she waked out of the stream, her shoes had vanished. They were nowhere to be found.  
  
"And after that, the day just got better."  
  
After walking half a day through the forest, she had found a little lake. Being hot and sweaty, she had swum a few rounds and rested on a rock to dry. She had known for a while that somebody was watching her.  
  
"Must have been Piccolo."  
  
But that hadn't bothered her. It had been the other people that gave her the creeps. She had felt their evil intentions.  
  
"But why did they want to kill me? Piccolo said it was their mission. I really don't get it. Why would somebody send seven warriors on a mission to kill me? And another group of ten when they find out that the first seven are killed."  
  
She went over the whole fight again.  
  
"And what were those balls of light the leader threw at me? It wasn't normal light, that's for sure. Normal light doesn't explode."  
  
Sighing, she recalled how bad she had been wounded. Piccolo must have healed her somehow. And it wasn't normal healing. She couldn't find a scar anywhere. Thinking hard, she could remember a golden glow.  
  
"And of course, we have Piccolo himself. He said he was a Namek. Nice name. But it doesn't mean a thing to me. Not that he told me much anyway. The only things I found out is that Nameks are all green, there are only two Nameks on this planet and that he wanted to train me because he thinks I have potential."  
  
Thinking back at the conversations she had with Piccolo, she smiled.  
  
"He is kinda cute."  
  
She giggled.  
  
"He blushed very prettily when he went through my underwear."  
  
Looking around the canyon, she sighed.  
  
"Nice situation I'm in. All on my own, right in the middle of nowhere, for an undetermined period of time. Great training method. Guess it's to look if I'm tough enough. And I've got a feeling I'll be here for a long time. Dear PiccoloSan didn't strike me as the person that is very gentle and subtle in his training methods. Or very caring for the well being of his student."  
  
Standing up, she gathered all the apple cores.  
  
"I'll just bury these somewhere. I don't want to attract animals."  
  
Busy digging the hole, she thinks again about her new Sensei.  
  
"Flying. Damn, that was great. I whish I knew how he did that. I hope he's going to teach me. That would be absolutely fabulous."  
  
With a sigh, she stood up.  
  
"I better go hunting. I can't survive on apples alone. I saw some deer tracks and some rabbit holes in the forest. I better go and set some traps."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Piccolo watched her walk into the forest. He was confident that she would pass this part of the training. She was good. Burying the apple cores, improving her bed, and going hunting.  
  
"She will manage. I wont have to watch her 24/7."  
  
He flew of to go meditating in a quiet place. 


	17. Five months later

Piccolo left the Capsule Corp building. He didn't fly of because he wanted to walk a bit. He needed to think. It had been quite the meeting. Gohan had called all of the Z gang and told them to come to Capsule Corp because he had an important announcement to make. Everyone had been there. The whole Son family, the whole Briefs family, Yamcha, Tien, Chioutzu, Puar, Oolong, Master Roshi, Dende, Krillin, 18 and Marron. Even Yajirobe and Lunch had been there! The first announcement hadn't been much of a surprise. Everyone had seen it coming. Gohan and Videl were going to get married. But the second announcement had been quite a shock. Videl was pregnant. Chi-Chi nearly fainted and then cried. Goku could only stare at Gohan and Videl with a stupid grin on his face. He was really happy for them. He even told them that. It had meant a great deal to Gohan. So much in fact that he had given him a hug. It had been a bit embarrassing. Thank Kami that most of the others hadn't seen it.  
  
Something hit his leg. He had been lost in thought for quite a while. Looking around, he saw that he was in an unfamiliar part of the city. He looked down to see what had hit his leg. It was a piece of paper. Pulling it of his leg, he saw that it was a missing person poster. He was about to throw the poster away when he saw the picture on it.  
  
"No, this cannot be. There must be a mistake."  
  
He looked again. No. It wasn't a mistake. It really was the Girl on the poster. She did look different. On the picture, her hair wasn't white, but brown/blonde. And her ears were just the human round. Not pointed as they were now. How long had it been since he had dropped her in the canyon? Must be about five months now. He was angry. Really, really angry. She had deceived him all that time. The poster was quite old. Most of the information on it was unreadable so he couldn't find out much more about her. Only that her name began with a T. He had some questions for the Girl. And she'd better answer them. It would be better for her health.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
She was sneaking through the bushes, her eyes never leaving the deer. With winter fast approaching, food was getting scarce. Not that it was a cold winter, with snow and such. No, she was to far south for that. But the animals were moving away and the plants were dying. She had prepared for that. She had stored large amounts of dried meat and vegetables in her cave. But fresh meat would make a nice change. Suddenly, all her instincts were screaming at her. Danger was approaching. Now the deer had sensed it to. It ran away. It was behind her! Dropping her makeshift spear, she began to turn round and started to draw her Katana. She was only half turned and her Katana only half out of its scabbard when something green hit her in the face. Her world exploded into pain. 


	18. Secrets revealed

He was impressed. She knew he was behind her. But he hadn't made a sound, and he had kept his powerlevel low. But it didn't lower his anger. The girl started to turn round. Clenching his left hand into a fist, he hit her in the face. The force of the blow made her fly out of the bushes and into the clearing beyond. She landed on her back. Giving her no time to react, he grabbed her by the throat, ripped the Katana from her back and slammed her into a tree. She immediately started to claw at his hand.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?"  
  
He said through cleansed teeth, holding the poster in front of her face. The girl replied, but he was holding her neck to tightly. She couldn't make a sound. He lessened his hold a bit.  
  
"I.don't.know."  
  
Her answer came in gasps.  
  
"Look at it. Doesn't she look familiar to you?"  
  
"Wait.that's.me?"  
  
He released her. She fell to the ground and lay there for a moment. When she had her breath back she stood up.  
  
"Tell me, what is the meaning of this."  
  
"I, I don't know."  
  
"Don't give me that nonsense. It is you on that poster. And you look very different. You better explain it all to me. Or else."  
  
The threat hung in the air for a moment. Then the girl gave a great sigh.  
  
"Alright. I'll explain."  
  
She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest.  
  
"Yes. It is me on that poster. Or better, that was me."  
  
"Was? You better explain it a bit better Girl."  
  
She let her head rest on her knees.  
  
"I don't know how to explain it. I'm not getting it myself. I'll explain it as well as I can. I know it's going to sound farfetched, but it is the truth."  
  
"It better is. If I find out that you are lying."  
  
"I was a human girl once. Lived with my parents and my little brother. I didn't look this way then. My hair wasn't white, my ears weren't pointed, and I didn't have fangs. But one night, it all changed. I woke up because I was thirsty. I went to the bathroom to drink. When I looked into the mirror, I looked like this. Just like that. I don't know what happened. But I couldn't stay with my parents anymore. I had become someone else. Someone that didn't belong in that life. So I packed my bag and ran away. The day you found me, it was six days after my 'change'. I whish I knew what happened."  
  
He didn't say a thing. He needed time to think. It was a strange story. But she was telling the truth.  
  
"And your name? The only thing I can still make out from the poster is that it begins with a T."  
  
"That is my old name. It belongs to a different person. A different life. A life I left behind when I 'changed'. But you can call me.Woran."  
  
He snorted.  
  
"Silly name. And where did you get it?"  
  
"Look who's talking. You are called after a music instrument!"  
  
"Hey kid, don't push it. I've only just decided not to kill you. Now tell me where you got it."  
  
"Well, it's actually my nickname. I've had it a long time. But I've always felt that it was something a bit more than just a nickname. My guess is that it's the name of the person I've become. And don't call me kid. I've got a name now."  
  
"I can call you whatever I damn feel like, kid. And you just ran away?"  
  
"No. I wrote my parents a letter explaining what had happened. And before you found me, I wrote them a letter everyday to say that I was alright. But I wont do that anymore."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, first of all, there aren't any post boxes around here. And second, I fear for them."  
  
"You fear for them?"  
  
"Yes. Those warriors want to kill me. If they find out that I have parents and a little brother. They aren't very honourable men. I fear that they will harm them to get to me."  
  
"You are right. Especially the leader. He is just the kind of coward that would do such a thing."  
  
"You mean was."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You said is. But you killed him. So it is was. I just hope that the rest of them isn't like that."  
  
"I wouldn't count much on that. When they found one of the killed warriors, it left them stone cold."  
  
She shuddered.  
  
"I just wish I knew why they want to kill me."  
  
"Same here. Now shut up and let me help you with that lip."  
  
She only now seemed to notice that her lower lip had split. It was still bleeding.  
  
"What do you want to do?"  
  
"Well, just give me that handkerchief you always carry with you."  
  
"How the hell did you know that?"  
  
"Just shut up and give it to me."  
  
With a thoughtful look on her face, she pulled it from under her sash and gave it to him. He grabbed her Gi at the back and flew to a nearby stream.  
  
"Go and sit on that rock."  
  
She did what he had ordered her. He held the handkerchief in the stream. The water was ice cold. He gently grabbed her chin and lifted her head. He wiped the blood from her chin. When all the blood had gone, he began to gently dab the split with the cold handkerchief. She didn't flinch, but he could see in her eyes that it hurt.  
  
"There. Good as new."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You better get back to your cave and get some rest. Real training begins tomorrow."  
  
He flew up.  
  
"Oh no you don't!"  
  
He felt the girl grab his leg.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!"  
  
"Hey, you left me here to survive for more then five months without any shoes. So you better give me a pair now. Or I'm going to take yours." Shaking his head, he landed.  
  
"Alright kid. You'll get your shoes."  
  
Concentrating, he let a pair of shoes materialize on the girls feet.  
  
"There. Now stop your whining and do as your told."  
  
"Wow. That is way cool. Hey, they are just the same as yours. You really have to teach me how to do this!"  
  
"In your dreams kid."  
  
He flew of. It was when he was beginning to meditate that he noticed that he was still holding the handkerchief. 


	19. Get ready

Piccolo landed in front of the cave. It was early in the morning. The girl was still asleep. Morning wasn't her time of the day. From watching her, he had learned that she was a night person. To bad for her. Training began now. He pulled the deerskins in the entrance aside and walked in. The girl was still asleep. He poked her in the ribs with his foot to wake her up. Still half asleep, she groaned.  
  
"Dad, stop it. It's a Sunday. I don't have school, and I don't have to work. So let me sleep."  
  
"Wake up kid."  
  
At the sound of his voice, she suddenly woke up and sat up.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She looked around confused. When she saw him standing next to her bed she realised what had happened.  
  
"Oh, shit. Sorry. I was dreaming. I thought you were my dad."  
  
"Well, I'm not. So get out of bed. Training is about to begin."  
  
"Aw, but PiccoloSan, its way to early! I haven't had enough sleep!"  
  
"Stop your whining and do as your told. You've got fifteen minutes to prepare."  
  
He walked outside. There came a lot of grumbling and cursing from the cave.  
  
"Hey, I heard that brat!"  
  
"Heard what?"  
  
She said, while walking outside.  
  
"I don't like being called a green skinned freak."  
  
"You have a very keen hearing then."  
  
He watched her brush her hair. It was one of her morning rituals. Shaking his head, he whispered to himself:  
  
"Why did I ever asked if she wanted training."  
  
"I wouldn't know. You never told me."  
  
"What, you heard that?"  
  
"Yeah! You're not the only one around here with good hearing you know."  
  
"So I notice."  
  
Leaning against a rock, he watched the girl. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he actually enjoyed watching her go through her morning rituals.  
  
"Here."  
  
She took the handkerchief.  
  
"Thank you. I was wondering what had happened to it."  
  
Strange. She wasn't looking him in the face. She kept her head bowed down. As if she was hiding something.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Her neck. She didn't want him to see her neck.  
  
"Don't give me that nonsense. I'm not stupid."  
  
She started to answer him. But he knew that it would just be another excuse. Having no patience for such games, he grabbed her chin and lifted her head. Her neck was badly bruised. It was a big, hand shaped bruise. His hand.  
  
"I.I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."  
  
"No. It's Ok. I understand why you did it. You were very angry yesterday."  
  
He fell back into his usual grumpiness.  
  
"You shouldn't have lied to me then."  
  
"Hey, don't push it green guy. You don't have the sole right on secrets you know. And I said I understand. Not that I have forgiven you."  
  
"Well have you forgiven me?"  
  
"Of course! You're way to cute to stay mad at for long."  
  
All he could do was stare at her, mouth agape. No one had ever called him cute. She giggled. To his relieve he noticed that she had been joking.  
  
"Hey kid, no one ever called me cute and lived."  
  
He had said it with such a serious tone that he had frightened her.  
  
"Well, I, I'm sorry. I was only joking. I didn't mean it."  
  
"I really hope you didn't kid. For your sake. Now get ready. You've had time enough to prepare. Training begins now." 


	20. Training begins

They walked to the wasteland on the other side of the canyon.  
  
"A question first kid. You didn't seem surprised when you saw me the first time. Most people either stare and walk away, or run away screaming. You didn't . Why?"  
  
"Well, I always knew that there was more to the world then just humans. I'm a very sensible person. It takes a lot to surprise me. And after my change. Lets say that I think that anything is possible now. Now a question for you Sensei. What are you going to teach me?"  
  
"You already know the basics. So I wont have to teach you that. It will take a while before I will teach you something."  
  
"And what will we do in the meantime?"  
  
"Spar."  
  
"Cool!"  
  
That wasn't the response he had been expecting. He had expected complaints, questions and protests. But she seemed happy that they were going to spar.  
  
"That doesn't bother you?"  
  
"Why should it? Free fighting was always my favourite part in Karate. And you don't want to know how much I enjoyed the fights I got into at school."  
  
"Then get ready."  
  
They both fell into a fighting stance. The girl put to much weight on her front foot. He was going to show her the mistake. The hard way. He did a quick step forward and aimed a punch at her face. She easily blocked. But that hadn't been the purpose of the move. He had wanted to get closer. He quickly hooked his foot behind hers and pulled it from under her. Then she did a thing he hadn't expected. She kicked him in the stomach with the foot he had just pulled out from under her. It was an awkward move, she being off balance. She fell onto her knees. And grabbed his feet. Having not expected any of this, he reacted to late. Before he knew it, he was lying on his back. Looking up, he saw the girl bow to him.  
  
"That wasn't a Karate move."  
  
"No Sensei. I made this one up myself."  
  
"How the hell did you come up with the idea of making your own moves?"  
  
"Well, the move you used is a Karate move. A black belt once used it on me during a free fight. I didn't know the counter, or if there even is one. So I came up with one of myself.  
  
Standing up, he looked hard at her. He couldn't believe that she had beaten him so easily.  
  
"As I have told you before, never underestimate your opponent."  
  
It was as if the girl had read his thoughts.  
  
"And how would you fight when your opponent doesn't underestimate you, smart ass?"  
  
"By my motto."  
  
"By your motto? What kind of nonsense is that?!"  
  
"It isn't any nonsense. I always fight by my motto."  
  
"And your stupid motto would be?"  
  
"Fight with all your heart. If you cant win that way, improvise. And if improvising doesn't work, cheat."  
  
It was a good motto to fight by. But he wasn't going to tell her that. And he certainly wasn't going to underestimate her anymore. She knew more than just the basics. And he was going to find out just how much more.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Piccolo attacked her again. No advanced moves this time. Just some simple punches. She easily blocked or dodged them.  
  
"You're not here to block and dodge you know. Attack!"  
  
He attacked her again. She blocked and counter attacked.  
  
"What kind of nonsense it this? I asked you to attack, not to punch the air!"  
  
Before she could reply or block, he punched her in the face. Pain flared across her nose and it started to bleed like mad.  
  
"What the hell is that fore?! If you wanted me to really hit you, you could have asked!"  
  
"Look kid, this is real training. Not some stupid mock fight. Now, you are either going to give everything you've got, or you get beaten up so badly that I can bury you in a matchbox."  
  
"Shees, take it easy will you! How was I supposed to know that you wanted to get beaten up! In Karate, we always held back our punches."  
  
"This isn't Karate. And get ready."  
  
They both fell into fighting stances again. She just knew that this was going to be a long and painful day. 


	21. Five weeks of hard training

"Keep your guard up girl!"  
  
She was bleeding from cuts and scrapes all over her body. Five weeks had passed since the beginning of the training. The first few days had only been sparring. After that, Piccolo had taught her a new attack or block every day. Followed by more sparring of course. And he stopped for nothing. Except for when she was very badly hurt. And according to his definition of very badly hurt, it had only happened thrice. Once when he had broken both her legs, another time when he had dislocated both her arms and once when he had broken her nose and bruised her face so badly that she hadn't been able to open her eyes. To bad broken ribs didn't count. He had broken her ribs before, but this time something was wrong. Breathing was hell. It had been hell all day. Normally when she had broken ribs, it only hurt very badly. This time every breath was a struggle against almost unbearable waves of pain. And she was coughing up blood. Piccolo hadn't noticed it because her face was already bloodied from split lips and a bleeding nose.  
  
"I said, KEEP YOUR GUARD UP!"  
  
She just couldn't. She was just too tired. It would go like this every day. They would fight until she collapsed of pure exhaustion. Most of the time she was so exhausted that Piccolo had to carry her back to the cave. His last attack slipped through her defences. He kicked her hard in the ribs. The pain was so intense that she fainted.  
  
She slowly came round. Opening her right eye just a little bit, she looked into Piccolo's face. She thought she saw concern for a moment. Coming fully round, she felt that she was lying against a rock. Piccolo kneeled at her side. The concern in his face was gone and was replaced by his usual scowl.  
  
"You Ok kid?"  
  
"Yeah. But what just ha."  
  
She couldn't finish her sentence. Talking hurt too much. Suddenly she had to cough up blood again. It hurt so badly that she got tears in her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking through her tears, she could see the concern on Piccolo's face again. It vanished as soon as she stopped coughing.  
  
"You sure you are Ok kid?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Her mouth was full of blood, so she turned her head away and spat it out. It was more then she had expected. Piccolo snorted.  
  
"Like hell you are Ok kid. So spit it out. What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Don't know exactly." She whispered.  
  
Talking out loud just hurt too much.  
  
"It feels like broken ribs, but it just hurts to much."  
  
"When did this happen?"  
  
"Early this morning. I had a few broken ribs from yesterday, and when you kicked me, a few others broke. My guess is that one of my ribs pierced one of my lungs. But don't worry, its not so bad."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
He knew that she was lying. She had a very high tolerance for pain. It took a lot of pain before she got tears in her eyes. He had only seen it thrice. And that was when she had been very badly hurt.  
  
"Yeah, sure. And I'm pink instead of green. Now see if you can stand up."  
  
She tried several times. But they each failed. He could see that the pain was too intense.  
  
"Stop it kid. You're only hurting yourself. Now relax and let me carry you."  
  
Even though he was gentle, she gave a small moan of pain. That told him how serious it really was. Getting tears in your eyes from pain was just a natural reaction. You couldn't do much about it. But she was very controlled when it came to pain. She never showed a sign. Only when the pain was almost unbearable, she showed some outward sign. And if she even was showing a sign at all, it was very small. Like a cleansed fist or gritting her teeth. Making a sound was so unlike her. The only time she had done it before was when he had to relocate both her arms. She had growled then. Having reached the cave, he went inside and lowered her unto the bed. He made sure that she was lying comfortable.  
  
"There aren't any senzu beans left. I'll have to get some. You sure you'll be Ok when I'm gone?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll manage." She whispered.  
  
He nodded and left. 


	22. Found again

How he wanted to kill Yajirobe! That a person could be so stupid. Korin never made such a fuss. When he asked Korin some Senzu beans, he just went and got him some. Without any questions. But not Yajirobe. No, he just had to keep bugging him. Good thing for Yajirobe that Korin came back just in time. Otherwise he would have been a blood coloured stain on the ground. The sharp rising of eleven powerlevels shook him from his thoughts. One of them was of the girl. The other ones were from the warriors. They had found her again. He was still far from the cave. Speeding up until he couldn't go any faster, he hoped that he would be on time.  
  
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Pain, agonizing waves of pain. Danger. People attacking. Hurt. Trying to breath. Hurt too much, but must breath. Danger, more danger. Blood, blood on her hands, in her mouth, in her lungs. Confusion. Danger. People surrounding her. Pain. Must not panic. Must think. Danger! Instincts screaming. Pain. Can't think. Must not give in to the pain. Danger! Cant breath. Hurt. Hurts too much. Pain too intense. Must not give in. Must.Not.Give.In.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
One of the powerlevels and the Ki that came with it had vanished! It could mean only one thing. Somebody was dead. To his relieve he noticed that it was one of the warriors. His relieve vanished quickly. The girls powerlevel was dropping. And fast. Now a powerlevel of one of the warriors was dropping to. But it didn't lessen his concern. It even grew. Her powerlevel was so low now, that he couldn't sense it anymore. He could only sense a small glimmer of Ki. The canyon came into sight now. Eight warriors surrounded a person lying on the ground. It was the girl. She was lying on her stomach, arms next to her body and legs stretched out behind her. One of the warriors slowly advanced towards her. Looking around he spotted the two other warriors. One was lying just outside the cave, throat cut. The other was lying not far from the eight warriors. He was alive, but in no condition to fight. The warrior was grasping the hilt of the girls Katana. He had been run trough his belly, the blade sticking out of his back. The wound was bleeding badly. It explained the steady dropping op his powerlevel, for with the loss of blood, he was also losing strength. Wasting no more time, he fired seven Ki blasts at the warriors surrounding the girl. He couldn't fire at the other one, because he was standing to close to the girl. The seven warriors were thrown back by the blasts. He had to act fast, now that he had given himself away. The last warrior looked up with an evil grin on his face. Laughing, he looked back down at the girl, drew a slender sword and raised it above his head. Cursing, Piccolo dove down with every bit of speed he had. It was going to be a close call. He stretched out his arms, reaching for the girl. Grabbing her by the back of the Gi, he shot straight into the air. He had risen only a few feet, when pain flared across his lower back and leg. Looking down, he saw the warriors blade sticking out of his right hip. An evil chuckle made him look down further. The warrior was still holding the sword. He nearly screamed out in pain when the warrior twisted the blade and pushed it in further. With a snarl, he turned around and kicked the warrior in the face with his left leg. The force of the blow made the warrior fly through the air a few yards. When the warrior hit the ground, he didn't stand up. He was out cold. Piccolo changed his grip on the girl, so that he was holding in his arms now. Then he flew of at top speed, the sword still stuck in his right hip. 


	23. Don't leave me

The pain was almost unbearable, but he ignored it for now. There were far more important things to worry about. Like the girls condition. The warriors had beaten her up pretty badly. Her jaw and right leg were broken, her left eye was swollen shut and she had a large gash on her right arm that was bleeding a lot. Apart from those distinct wounds, it was hard to see where the wounds that were inflicted by the warriors began and the wounds she got while training ended. He suddenly noticed that he was flying a lot lower than before. Thinking hard, he tried to find out how it came. Wait, that wasn't right. Then it hit him. The wound. Looking down at the wound, he cursed heavily in Namek, ending with,  
  
"Bloody son of a bitch!"  
  
The sword had cut at least one artery. Blood was running down his leg very fast, dripping down his foot, onto the ground.  
  
"Nice trail I'm making. Those warriors will have no trouble at all to follow it."  
  
The loss of blood explained him losing altitude and his lack of concentration. But it also made the situation more grave. He had to land, but he didn't like it one bit. They were flying above the wasteland. It was the perfect place for an ambush. Having no chance but to risk it, he landed.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Pain was the first thing that returned to her in the blackness. It was a dull pain. Not sharp as before. She felt strangely detached from her body. Everything seemed to come from far way. Even the pain. Slowly, another sensation came back to her. Feeling. Two strong arms holding her. The warmth of a body. Somebody gently stroking the hair out of her face. Two fingers pressing on her neck. A head resting on her chest. The movements of the person becoming swift. Getting lowered unto the ground. No! She didn't want that. She wanted to stay in those strong arms, held against the warm body. Two fingers closed her nose and her head was tilted backwards. A warm mouth covered her own. Air was blown into her lungs. Air? She didn't know that she had stopped breathing. With the help of the other person's breath, she slowly began to breath on her own. Slowly, her vision returned and some of the blackness lifted. Everything was blurred. Her eyes wouldn't focus. Something green entered her field of vision. A face. A face from a person. A person she new, but couldn't place. A person that was important to her. The person moved his lips, saying something to her. She strained her ears, trying to hear what he said.  
  
".Kid.are.Ok kid?.listen.can.hear."  
  
It didn't make any sense to her. Closing her eyes, she began to drift back into the blackness.  
  
"Kid! No, don't leave me! Woran, Woran! Concentrate Woran!"  
  
Concern. Real concern. And. sadness? Fear? Opening her eyes again, she looked into the terribly familiar face again.  
  
"Piccolo."  
  
She new who it was then. Piccolo. Her mentor, her sensei. She said his name, but it was so soft, it wasn't even a whisper. But Piccolo heard her. He began to talk again.  
  
"Here.Senzu bean.swallow"  
  
He placed something in her mouth. Swallowing it, a warm glow spread through her body. The pain vanished, her vision and hearing came back, the tiredness in her whole body was gone in a few seconds and the blackness that clouded her mind lifted. Blinking a few times, she sat up.  
  
"Woran, you Ok now?"  
  
She looked at Piccolo and nodded. The relieve vanished from his face at the nod. But she could still see it in his eyes. His face might be blank, but his eyes always betrayed his emotions. You had to look very carefully, but it was there. She had gotten quite good at reading his emotions from his eyes. There was another emotion. Pain. She looked him over.  
  
"Shit!!! Piccolo, you've got a sword stuck in your hip!"  
  
"Good that you told me. I really wouldn't have noticed it myself."  
  
"Quite the sarcasm and lay down."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't fuss and do it!"  
  
"Hey kid, don't push!"  
  
"Shut up. It's the only way I can get you to lay down. Now stop whining, turn on your side and let me take a look at the sword."  
  
"Hey, what are you, my mother or something?"  
  
"No, thank god I'm not. Piccolo, this is a very bad wound. I'm going to remove the sword now. It's going to hurt like hell, but you must concentrate and regenerate immediately. The sword has stemmed the flow of blood a bit. Once its removed, the wound will start to bleed even more. If you don't regenerate, you'll lose too much blood. Understand?"  
  
"I understand. Just stop fussing over me and get the damned sword out."  
  
"Ok, I'm going to pull it out on three. You ready?"  
  
"Of course I am."  
  
"Alright then. Here we go. One, two, THREE!"  
  
Piccolo was lying on his left side. Gripping the hilt with both hands, she counted to three and pulled it out as fast as she could. Blood gushed out of the wound. Throwing the sword away, she knelt at Piccolo's side. She really wanted to do something, to stem the flow of blood. But she couldn't. Touching him would make him lose his concentration. 


	24. Concerned about Piccolo

Pain flared though his body. Gritting his teeth, he tried to concentrate. It was hard, the pain and blood loss made him dizzy. With a growl he tensed all his muscles and concentrated harder. Slowly the wound began to close. Sweat was running down his face. Regenerating the wound was harder then he thought. When the wound finally closed, he was tired. Regenerating was never easy. It always took a lot of energy. And you could only regenerate wounds or limbs, not blood. That had to come back the natural way. He slowly stood up and shook his head. The dizziness faded a bit.  
  
"Piccolo, are you Ok?"  
  
Hearing the concern in her voice, he looked at the girl.  
  
"Hey kid, don't look so worried. You get wrinkles from it."  
  
With relieve clear on her face, the girl stuck out her tong and grinned.  
  
"I guess you are Ok then. At least your sense of 'humour' is. And I couldn't care less about wrinkles."  
  
"You should. You humans get ugly very quickly."  
  
She laughed aloud at his last statement.  
  
"What?"  
  
"No, its nothing."  
  
"Oh, then you are laughing aloud just for the fun of it then? I've always known that you weren't completely sane."  
  
"Hey, its just that you can explain you're statement in two different ways."  
  
He arched an eyebrow. With a big grin, she explained:  
  
"First there is the way that you said it. But the second way is a bit different. You said that humans get ugly very quickly. So that means that before they get old, you think that they are good-looking."  
  
"Kid, I'm beginning to regret my decision to give you a Senzu bean."  
  
"First, I'm not a kid. Second, I've got a name. And third, you called me a human."  
  
"And what is wrong with calling you a human, kid?"  
  
She pointed to her white hair.  
  
"Is this a natural hair colour for a human teenager? And is it normal for humans to have pointed ears?"  
  
"Alright smart ass. Have it your way then. You're not human."  
  
She looked at him and grinned, making sure he got a good look at her fangs. Suddenly, her grin vanished. Turning round, she was about to say something. But she couldn't finish her sentence. One of the warriors jumped from a rock on top of the girl.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Her instinct told her that there was danger. Turning round, a warrior jumped her. Acting fast, she grabbed the warrior at the front of his tunic and let herself fall. When she was lying on her back on the ground, she pulled up her legs and planted them in the warriors stomach. With a great heave, she threw the warrior over her head. She immediately stood back up and fell into a fighting stance.  
  
"Come out you cowardly bastards! I know that you are there!"  
  
The only thing that stirred was the warrior that she had just thrown of. But she knew that they were out there. Hiding. Biding their time. Keeping one eye on the surroundings and one on the warrior, she wondered why Piccolo hadn't done anything. He always knew if somebody was close. And Piccolo was really fast. It should have been a piece of cake for him to just grab the warrior in mid air. He must have lost a lot of blood, to slow him down so much. Concerned about Piccolo, she risked a quick glace at the green man. She had just time to notice that Piccolo looked tired, before something hit her from behind. 


	25. Fighting again

She fell onto her stomach. The warrior on her back pinned her right arm to the ground and hooked his arm around her neck. The fool. A few months earlier a stranglehold like that would have worked. But not anymore. She had become stronger during her time in the wilds. And her strength had grown even more in the weeks that Piccolo had trained her. The warrior pressed his cheek against hers.  
  
"Got you now you little bitch."  
  
"I think not, sucker."  
  
Twisting her hip, she made some room between her body and that of the warrior and hit him hard in the stomach with her left elbow. His hold lessened, but he wouldn't let go. She drove her elbow into his stomach again and again, until he finally did. Throwing the warrior of, she quickly stood up and looked at the situation. Four warriors were attacking Piccolo. He didn't have too much trouble with them, but she could see that he wasn't his usual capable self. He was slower and his punches didn't have his normal strength. She wanted to help him, but she had troubles of her own now. The warrior she had thrown of had crawled away and was throwing up blood. The remaining warriors were slowly advancing towards her. Two of them held knives, one of them a sword. Cursing silently, she looked around for something to defend herself with. She spotted the sword she had thrown away just a few moments ago. But the warriors had seen it to. One of them moved to the side and ran towards it.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
Hoping she would reach it first, she ran and dived towards the weapon. The warrior slammed into her, his knife grazing her ribs. They both fell onto the ground and struggled for a moment. It ended with the warrior sitting atop her and raising his knife to stab her. She looked around for a way to escape or divert the blade. The sword. It was lying just a few inches away, but knife was already coming down. Desperate, she grabbed the sword and hit the warrior in the face with the hilt. As soon as the unconscious warrior hit the ground, she reversed her grip on the hilt and cut his throat. She stared at the blood with morbid fascination. A cry of rage made her snap out of her trance.  
  
"You dirty bitch! You're going to die!"  
  
The warrior with the sword attacked her. He was good. The little sword fighting skill she had was no match for his. She was only alive because of her speed. Without stopping his attacks, the warrior waved away the one with the knife.  
  
"Go and attack the green one. I can handle this little kid. She hardly knows how to hold a sword."  
  
She knew that she didn't stand a chance in a man-to-man fight. But there was a small chance of winning. She had to use one of her secret weapons. Taunts. Her only chance lay in making the warrior so angry that he would begin to make mistakes.  
  
"And you do?"  
  
"What do you mean kid?"  
  
"Well, you say that I can't hold a sword. What makes you think that you can? And don't call me kid. Only Piccolo has that right."  
  
"I am a very competent sword fighter. And what do you mean with Piccolo? Oh, you mean the green guy."  
  
"Competent, my ass. If you are so competent, then why am I still alive?"  
  
"Beginners luck."  
  
"So, that is luck for us both then."  
  
"I am no beginner."  
  
"No? Oh, well, my apologies then. I thought you were green as grass."  
  
The warriors answer was a series of quick and vicious attacks. She was able to block most of them, but a few of them slipped through her defence.  
  
"He is a better fighter then I thought. He isn't responding much to my taunts. I'll just have to try a bit harder then." She thought. Everybody had a week point. Usually warriors like this were very sensitive in the skill area. But not this one. Then she just had to prod in another sensitive area. With a little improvising of course.  
  
"Your mother has horns!"  
  
"My mother has what?"  
  
"Horns! You stupid, cowardly goat!"  
  
"Horns? What kind of insult is that?"  
  
"Oh, sorry, my mistake. I thought that you were descended form a Bariaur"  
  
"My mother is NOT a Bariaur!"  
  
"I thought she was. You certainly are ugly enough. And about those horns. That has to be right."  
  
"What. You actually dare to say. that my mother. YOU BITCH!!!"  
  
She hadn't expected that this particular insult would work. Well, she had expected the mother part to work. A lot of people were sensitive in that area, including herself. But she hadn't expected him to know what a Bariaur was. And she certainly hadn't expected him to know what 'your mother has horns' would mean. But now she had another problem. The warrior was attacking her with powerful and skilled sweeps. He was making mistakes in his anger, and he left holes in his defence. But he had skills that she didn't have. "I'm in deep trouble now." She thought. His attacks drove her back until she was standing with her back to a large rock.  
  
"You'll pay bitch!"  
  
The warrior grinned evilly and attacked her with a series of quick cuts. She managed to block most of them. Then he attacked her with a powerful swipe, she was able to block just in time, but her blade shattered on impact. There was only about a foot left of the blade. Laughing, the warrior attacked with a series of quick cuts again. She was able to block most of them with what was left of the blade. Suddenly she realised how good the warrior was. He had attacked her in such a manner that she had a big hole in her defence. The warrior swung his sword in a fast and powerful two-handed arc. She pulled back the remains of the sword, but she was to late to block.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
For those that don't know, a Bariaur is a creature that is similar to the centaur, but instead of the lower body of a horse, the lower body is that of a goat. (check for more info on the Bariaur: www. shadowlands.org /Planescape /racedescripps.html)  
  
And for the explanation of the phrase 'your mother has horns'. Only male Bariaur's have horns. Females don't. (I think that you can figure the meaning out for yourself now.) 


	26. Falling out of the sky

Having no time to block, she let herself fall and prayed to any god that might listen that she had been quick enough. The sword hit the rock so close to her head that it cut off some of her hairs. It rained pieces of metal on her back. The sword had hit the stone with such force that it had shattered. Not waiting for the warriors reaction, she pushed herself off with her legs and head butted the warrior in the stomach. His eyes bulged and he dropped what was left of the sword.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------  
  
Two more warriors walked his way. They both held knives. Normally he wouldn't have had any troubles with four weaklings like this. But the wound had weakened him. The loss of blood made him dizzy and slowed his reflexes. The energy that he had used for the regeneration made him tired and affected his strength. Not that he couldn't handle them. The fools weren't able to lay so much as a finger on him. He easily blocked all their attacks. This was also a good opportunity to find out more about the warriors and their fighting stile. Shouting made him look to the left. Woran was in trouble. The warrior she was fighting with was a good swordsman. He drove her back, step by step, until she was standing with her back to a large rock. The insults she was throwing at him didn't make her situation any better.  
  
"I'll just have to save her." He thought. "Again."  
  
He flew up into the air. The warriors stared at him for a moment, as if they couldn't understand that he was able to fly. Grinning, he shot a few Ki blasts down. His grin vanished the moment he heard breaking metal. Woran's blade had shattered. She was able to defend herself with what was left of it against most of the warriors attacks. He cursed heavily. The warrior was attacking her is such a way that there would be a large hole in her defence. He couldn't shout a warning, for that would distract her, and he couldn't use his Ki, for they were fighting to close to each other. He dove down, but in his heart he knew that he was to late. The warrior swung his sword with all the strength he had. Piccolo's heart tensed with worry, and. Fear? He stopped his dive when she hit the ground. Was she hurt? Had she been quick enough? When she moved, it felt as if a heavy stone was lifted from his heart. He grinned when he saw her head butt the warrior in the stomach.  
  
Piccolo was so concentrated on the fight that he didn't notice the danger until it was to late. One of the warriors had climbed unto a rock close to him. He only noticed the warrior when he jumped from the rock unto his back. He quickly reached behind his back for the warrior, but he was too late. The warrior stabbed him in the neck with a knife. Everything went black. The last thing he knew was that he was falling out of the air and someone was screaming his name. 


	27. Somebody cares

Something hit him. Hard. It lifted him out of the darkness for a moment. Cracking one eye open, he saw Woran exchange punches with one of the warriors. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding from a dozen cuts and scratches. Black bruises contrasted highly with her white skin. She kicked her opponent out of the way and attacked another one. When she turned, he saw her face. He was shocked by the expression on it. Rage. Pure hate. And sadness. Tears were streaming down her face. He wanted to say something. To comfort her. To tell her that everything was all right. But his body wouldn't obey him. He fell into the darkness again.  
  
There was a sound. Somebody was talking. To him? Whoever it was, he wanted her to go away. He was so tired.  
  
The person spoke again. He listened with some more attention this time. The tone of the voice was urgent. Not understanding a word, he just wished that the person would go away. So that he could sleep.  
  
But the person wouldn't go away. And wouldn't stop talking. There was despair in the voice. When he didn't react, the voice broke. Finally, some coherent sound reached him.  
  
"No! You can't die! I will not let you die! You must fight!"  
  
Now he noticed things he'd missed before. Somebody was holding him. His upper body was lying on the person's lap. His head was held in someone's arms. Warm drops fell onto his face. A few fell on his lips, and slid down into his mouth. Warm. Salt. His thoughts became a little bit clearer. He knew what was falling onto his face. Tears. Strange, nobody had ever cried for him. No. Wait. Somebody had. A boy. A black haired boy. And somebody else. A girl, a strange girl with white hair. He knew that both meant a lot to him. Names, names. He could almost see their faces, almost speak their names. But the blackness, the blackness was so inviting. And he was so tired. So. Tired. It would be so easy to just let go.  
  
He was drifting away, quietly into the darkness, when something stopped him. The person was pulling at his clothes, searching around in his Gi. The feeling of fingers sliding across his chest gave him a strange feeling in his stomach. Something was pulled out of his Gi. When the person moved his head backward, a terrible pain erupted from the side of his neck and turned the blackness white hot. A low groan escaped his lips. Fragments of words reached him through the white-hot pain, but they didn't make any sense.  
  
Slowly, the white became black again. Everything he felt seemed to travel a great distance before it reached him. The person had placed something in his mouth and wanted him to swallow. But his body wouldn't obey him. He felt like a prisoner in his own flesh. More tears fell onto his face, and some slid down into his mouth. It were so many, that he nearly choked on them. The tears triggered his body's reflexes. He swallowed. Something larger then the tears went down. When the thing reached his stomach, a warmth spread through his veins, dispelling the blackness. With the blackness gone, the pain of his neck wound seared trough his body. The warmth spread. It went from his veins to the rest of his body. The pain lessened quickly, and he felt the wound closing.  
  
Opening his eyes, he looked up into Woran's tear streaked face. Like a flower blossoming, the grieve on her face turned to hope.  
  
"Piccolo.?" She whispered.  
  
He sat up. Woran removed her arms from around his neck and looked up into his eyes. She looked as she couldn't believe that he was all right, but was hoping it with all her heart.  
  
"Hey, kid. It takes more than a puny knife to kill me."  
  
The last words hadn't left his mouth yet when she flung herself forward, crying, and embraced him fiercely. He didn't know what to do. She was holding him as if she was afraid that he would disappear the moment she let go. Her body was shaking from her sobs. His Gi was wet with her tears. Not knowing what else to do, he patted her on the head. His fingers came away sticky with blood. Looking down, he saw that the hair on the left side of her head was crusted with half dried blood. He also noticed other injuries.  
  
"Hush kid. It's all right. Now, let me take a look at you."  
  
He carefully detached her from his Gi and held her at arms length. She was in a pretty bad shape. Her left eye was closed and swollen, and starting to turn black. The left side of her face was also bruised. Her Gi was in taters and she was covered in cuts, scratches and more bruises. She avoided putting weight on her right leg. He could see that her knee was swollen.  
  
"I've seen better days, haven't I?" She said, smiling trough her tears.  
  
He didn't reply. There were more important things to think about. He had told her that such a puny knife couldn't hurt him. And technically it couldn't. But this one had. It was a mystery to him why the warrior had been able to hurt him.  
  
"Poison."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It was poison that enabled the warrior to hurt you."  
  
It was as if she had read his thoughts. He scanned her face for some sign that she was joking or something. But she wasn't. The situation was still to grave for jokes. She wiped some tears from her face.  
  
"What do you mean by poison?"  
  
His tone was dead serious. If there was something that allowed weaklings to hurt powerful fighters like himself so severely, he wanted to know about it.  
  
"I'll show you."  
  
She limped over to where he had been lying just a few moments ago. There was still a large puddle of purple blood on the ground. In the middle of the puddle lay a knife.  
  
"Here. See this?"  
  
She picked up the knife and pulled a nail through an almost invisible crack in the middle of the blade. Holding up her finger, she pointed at a strange black substance on her nail.  
  
"This knife is poisoned. And I've checked the remains of the sword. It's also poisoned."  
  
He took the knife out of her hand and examined it carefully. The crack was actually a small, almost closed tube.  
  
"Nasty thing, isn't it? There is one of those tubes at the other side to. This way of crafting makes sure that the poison enters the victims body, even if a minor wound is inflicted. The sword was crafted in the same way."  
  
He looked again at the knife. That such a small thing could cause so much harm. His ears twitched at an almost imperceptible sound and shook him from his thoughts. Something was out there. And it wasn't an animal. The sound came again, this time loud enough to be identified. A person was moving. Woran had heard it to. She wiped away her tears and assumed a fighting stance, as best as she could with her injuries.  
  
"That's not necessary. Whoever is out there isn't strong enough to hurt us."  
  
The sound had come from behind a large rock a few yards away. Walking in a wide circle around the rock, he formed a ball of Ki in his hand, just in case. He could now see who had made the sound. It was a pitiful sight. One of the warriors was still alive, but only just. He was leaning heavily on the rock to keep himself from falling. His clothes were torn. What was left of them was stuck to his body with blood. The warrior gave him a sad grin. His teeth had a red sheen to them.  
  
"You trained her well. She is a good fighter, when her heart is in it. And she is a clever one to."  
  
The warrior started coughing and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.  
  
"She really is a good fighter. And she cares about you a lot. Take good care of her, will you?"  
  
"That is a very strange thing to hear from a person that wants to kill you."  
  
Woran limped past him, her face and eyes cold as ice, mouth set in a grim line. The warrior smiled sadly at her words.  
  
"I don't have something against you personally. I was just obeying orders. And now I can freely say that I don't agree with them at all. As it is, I don't have to worry for my life anymore."  
  
He smiled sadly again. Woran crossed her arms and gave him an icy glare.  
  
"I would very much like to know why you were 'ordered' to kill me."  
  
The way she said 'ordered' made it clear that she didn't believe the warrior at all. But as important as her question might be, he had a very important question of his own.  
  
"I have a question too. The poison. How does it work?"  
  
Woran opened her mouth to object. One look made her close it. She took a step back and bowed her head. The warrior looked at him, then at Woran, and then back at him again.  
  
"The poison. I'm not proud to say that some of my comrades work with it."  
  
"I don't care for your warped sense of honour. I want to know how it works."  
  
The warrior sighed, his brows furrowed in pain.  
  
"The poison. It's a tricky stuff. Those of the lower ranks who use it are never told how it is made. Only the real high ups know. And even then, only a few of them really know."  
  
"And.?" He asked annoyed.  
  
"It's a subtle poison. It works slowly, but it is very potent. First, it slowly dulls the senses. It does it in such a subtle way that you don't notice it."  
  
He raised an eye ridge. The warrior shrugged, his face contorted with pain from the movement.  
  
"Or at least you don't notice in the heat of battle. It also affects your strength, speed and endurance. Basically, it affects everything. Even special abilities you might have."  
  
"That explains why your moves weren't as graceful as they normally are."  
  
Woran was letting him go down easy. Now that his mind was clear, he remembered how clumsy his moves had been.  
  
"Its a dangerous poison." The warrior continued, his voice very soft. "There isn't an antidote, and most healing magic's don't work." Again that sad smile. "You are extremely lucky that she found something that worked."  
  
He bowed his head to Woran, coughed a few times and spat out some blood. His eyes were half closed and his breathing was shallow.  
  
"Take.good care.of her. She's.special. More special.then you.might.ever.know."  
  
The warriors breath escaped in a long, shuddering sigh.  
  
"No! Wait, damn it! You still haven't told me."  
  
He swore under his breath for a moment because the warrior was dead. His half open eyes were staring into the distance.  
  
"Damn. He still hadn't told me everything about the poison. I'm sure there is more to it then simply dulling of the senses and the affecting of strength and speed. Next time you kill someone, be more careful. If they all die this quickly, we'll never find anything out."  
  
Silence greeted him. Normally, Woran would have answered him with a witty or funny reply. She never could resist to comment on some humour from him.  
  
"Hey kid, cat got your tongue?"  
  
Silence again.  
  
"Kid?"  
  
Turning around, he saw her sitting with closed eyes against the rock. Her hand pressed against her left side. Blood was seeping trough her fingers. Her right leg was stretched out before her; she was hugging her left one to her chest. Her face was deadly pale and she was going to great lengths to keep the pain from showing on it. She was doing a good job. If they didn't see her wounds, a stranger wouldn't know that she was in agony. But he knew her too well. He could tell she was in pain by the set of her jaw and her tensed muscles. He walked over, went down on one knee and put a hand on her shoulder. She winced despite herself.  
  
"Hey kid. Seems like today's events are finally catching up with you."  
  
She opened her eyes and gave him a smile.  
  
"Yeah, seems like it. Did you learn anything from the warrior? I'm afraid that I didn't really follow the conversation."  
  
"Not much. Next time, when you kill someone, be more careful will you? If they die this quickly, we will never get to know anything."  
  
She chuckled for a moment.  
  
"Ow, my poor broken ribs! Piccolo, this time, your humour is really going to kill me."  
  
"Yeah, right. Now tell me. What did you do with the Senzu beans?"  
  
"I dropped them after I gave you a bean. The bag must still be lying there."  
  
With a nod he stood up and searched for the Senzu beans. They were easy to find. He picked up the bag and looked at it for a while. There were bloody fingerprints all over it. Puzzled, he walked back.  
  
"Didn't I put this into my Gi?"  
  
Woran's blush was all the more obvious on her pale face. She avoided looking him in the eye.  
  
"Yeah. You did. I had to, eh. fish it out, when you were hurt."  
  
He felt his cheeks go hot. Turning around, he tossed the bag over his shoulder.  
  
"Take a Senzu bean."  
  
"Eh, Piccolo."  
  
"What is it kid?"  
  
"Well, I think I have a problem."  
  
He turned round, after being sure that he was no longer blushing.  
  
"What kind of problem?"  
  
She sighed at his sharp tone and pointed to her right leg.  
  
"I think its broken, right above my knee. And if it isn't properly set when I swallow the Senzu bean, it won't grow back the right way."  
  
"Why don't you set it yourself?"  
  
She gave him a sad smile.  
  
"You know that I can take a lot of pain. But I'm willing to bet a lot of money that if the pain of setting a bone is added to what I'm already going through, I'm going to faint dead away."  
  
Seeing that she was serious, he uncrossed his arms and sat down next to her. He grabbed her leg just above and under the knee.  
  
"Is it a clean break?"  
  
"I think so." A deep sigh. "I hope so."  
  
She put a lot of emphasis on hope.  
  
"I'm going to set it on three. Ready?"  
  
She gave a sharp nod.  
  
"Alright then. One, two, THREE!"  
  
When he pulled, he could feel the broken ends grind over each other. Woran growled and grabbed his arm, her fingers digging into his flesh. The bone wouldn't set into its proper place, so he pulled harder. Her growl turned into a moan. Her fingers dug even deeper into his arm and she screamed. Her scream was abruptly cut of when her bone popped back into its proper place with a sickening crack. He let go of her leg and turned round to look at her. She was out cold.  
  
"Hey, kid, wake up."  
  
He gave her shoulder a gentle shake. She gave a small groan, but didn't wake up.  
  
"Come on kid, wake up! You are bleeding like a pig!"  
  
Now that she was unconscious, her hand was no longer pressing on the wound on her side. Blood was gushing out.  
  
"Shit. Kid, come on! Wake up! You have lost too much blood already. And I don't want to risk giving you a Senzu bean when I'm not sure if your leg is properly set."  
  
Having no other choice but to risk it, he put his arm around her shoulders and let her head fall backwards. He took a bean and was about to place it in her mouth when she groaned again. Her eyelids fluttered.  
  
"Wake up kid, wake up!"  
  
She slowly opened her right eye, but it wasn't focused.  
  
"Woran, can you hear me?"  
  
She blinked and frowned, trying to remember what had happened.  
  
".Piccolo?"  
  
"Back in the land of the living, are we?"  
  
She moved her head back up and groaned.  
  
"Seems that I am. Dead would be a lot less painful."  
  
"That depends on it. Is your leg properly set?"  
  
She ran a hand over her leg and nodded.  
  
"Think so."  
  
"Then take a Senzu bean."  
  
She took the bean out of his hand. Her hand was shaking badly. While she waited for the bean to work, he wondered again how she could fight with such fine, almost delicate fingers.  
  
"Ouch! I felt that!"  
  
Her leg bone healed with a few painful cracks. As soon as her injuries were healed, he helped her back up. She had a mischievous smile on her face and her eyes were shining. He just knew that she was up to something.  
  
"Hey, Piccolo?"  
  
He didn't like her tone at all.  
  
"What kid?"  
  
"You owe me a lot of money."  
  
"What the hell do you mean?"  
  
"I fainted. So pay up."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, I made a bet. I said that I would bet a lot of money that is the pain of setting my broken leg was added to what I was already going through, I would faint dead away. And I did. So, where's my money?"  
  
"Sometimes I wonder why I let you live."  
  
"Because I'm cute, intelligent and you can't live without me."  
  
Time to change the subject.  
  
"What would you have done if you hadn't fainted?"  
  
"Nah, don't worry about it anymore. I never bet for money. Besides, I don't even have a penny to scratch my back with."  
  
"You're impossible kid. Just keep calm. You have lost too much blood. I'm going to get rid of the corpses."  
  
She nodded, still smiling. He just shook his head and started to blast the corpses.  
  
"Piccolo?"  
  
"What is it now kid?"  
  
"What are we going to do with the weapons?"  
  
"We? Well, for starters, YOU aren't going to do anything with them. I'm just going to blast them into a useless lump of metal."  
  
"Blast them! But that would be a waste! Some of those weapons are finely crafted."  
  
"Finely crafted? And since when are you a weapon expert?"  
  
"Since you kicked me in the head during training."  
  
"Very funny kid."  
  
"Well, I actually didn't find that funny at all. It hurt a lot you know."  
  
"Kid, get to the point, before I make you."  
  
"Alright! Shees, a bit of humour won't kill you, you know."  
  
"No, but it will kill you if you keep at it."  
  
She rolled her eyes. Death threats hardly had any effects on her anymore.  
  
"What I was trying to say before I got a death threat, again, was that maybe we should keep the poisoned knife. So that we can let Bulma analyse it or something."  
  
"Hm, not a bad idea kid. It appears that you do have two brain cells to rub together."  
  
"Birds of a feather flock together. And that was one of my lines!"  
  
"Whatever. Now go gather the weapons and stop bothering me."  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
She gave him a mock salute and went in search of the weapons. Most of them were lying next to their owners, but some of them were in the oddest of places. He stared down at a very mutilated corpse.  
  
"What the hell did you do with these guys? This one looks like his head was run over by a truck."  
  
A knife came flying from under a rock, a moment later followed by Woran who was struggling to get out of the narrow crack.  
  
"Wow, that was a tight fit!"  
  
She stood up, dusted herself of and took a look at the corpse.  
  
"And what were you doing under that rock?"  
  
"I kicked one of the knives under it so that its owner couldn't get it back. And you mean this guy? I kinda used his face as a punch ball. He deserved it. He said some pretty bad things about you."  
  
He disintegrated the corpse with a beam of Ki.  
  
"Did you get all the weapons?"  
  
She did some quiet calculations on her fingers.  
  
"Yeah, think so."  
  
"Where is the poisoned knife?"  
  
"Right here. But this isn't the only poisoned weapon."  
  
"We only need to keep one. Go put rest of the weapons in a pile. I'm going to blast the last corpse."  
  
"Yes Captain Piccolo!"  
  
Again that mock salute.  
  
"You are not funny kid!"  
  
"That's what you think."  
  
He sighed and walked to the last corpse. This one was beaten up badly to. The kid had more fighting potential then he thought. It was no easy feat killing so many warriors. Too bad she sometimes had an attitude.  
  
"Ah, shit! Stupid sword."  
  
"Watch out kid, those things are sharp."  
  
"Oh really? I never would have noticed that without your help. Oh, wait, I would. They tried to kill me with those things!"  
  
"Whatever kid. Are you finished putting them into a pile?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Alright. Stand back."  
  
He concentrated so that his Ki beam was low on power, but very hot. Slowly the weapons melted.  
  
"Lets get back to your cave kid. You need a good night rest. You have lost too much blood, and you need to be fit for tomorrows training. I'm going to teach you some special techniques. Now come here."  
  
The effects from the Senzu bean were beginning to wear off. The beans gave her back her energy, but she was weak from blood loss. The bean worked like an energy boost for her. Its effects would be temporal. What she needed was a good night's sleep. She stood before him, fatigue in her eyes. No questions why this time. The only thing she did was look him straight into his eyes. He bent down and took her into is arms, one under her knees, one round her shoulders. As he slowly rose into the air, she put her arms round his neck. She didn't like flying very much.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall."  
  
She nodded, but didn't remove her arms. He flew off towards the cave. He wasn't even halfway there when she fell asleep in his arms.  
  
"Rest kid. You deserve it." He whispered to her. "You did great today. You'll be a great warrior one day, I just know it. Rest now. Save your strength. Your battle is over."  
  
He silently touched down on the ground outside the cave. He walked inside and put her into her bed.  
  
"Rest kid. I'll guard over you this night. No one will hurt you while I'm guarding over you. I promise."  
  
He sat next to her bed and started some light meditation.  
  
"I promise." 


End file.
